Return To Me
by Carrot Top
Summary: Paige Collins, a human, and Eric Northman, a vampire, were once madly in love with each other. Their romance, however, met its untimely end after Paige's demons caught up to her and left her with no choice but to leave Eric. But when they unexpectedly cross paths again over a year later, they soon discover that time has changed many things, but their love is not one of them...
1. Prologue

**A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR**

As of July 11, 2013 this story is in the process of being revised. You may read the story as is if you wish, but if you want to wait for the rewritten (and _much better_) version, check back in about two weeks. I'll post another note at the end of the story to alert everyone when the new version is finished and up. But whatever your decision, Enjoy!

**8/28/13** - I'm halfway finished revising the story. Sorry for the wait!

**-Carrot Top**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to True Blood.**

How had this happened? How had everything come right back down to this?

Oh, who was she kidding? Paige Collins new _exactly _how this had happened. He had been her reason for joining this secret organization in the first place. She should have known that the higher up in ranks she became, the more likely it would be that she would run into him again. He was, after all, very powerful and very well known; the type of vampire that the organization liked to work around and be in league with.

Paige ran a hand through her strawberry blonde hair and sighed, leaning her head back against the only slightly tacky red velvet wall. She supposed she should be used to seeing places with this type of decoration but it still made her smirk at how cliché it seemed. She stared around the room, studying the inhabitants curiously, as she shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her fitted leather jacket she wore over her green tank top and casual jeans.

The room was full of both humans and vampires alike. A male vampire sauntered up to her with a confident smirk on his lips and she quirked an eyebrow at him that only seemed to interest him further. At once, his demeanor reminded Paige of the very same vampire plaguing her current thoughts and she stiffened, not wanting to deal with this new vampire at that particular moment.

"Awfully nice night for a young beauty such as yourself to be spending alone." The vampire drawled, removing his cowboy hat in greeting with a grace that almost made her jealous. She knew that between her unlimited clumsiness and the fact that she was the most accident prone person she'd ever known that she'd _never _be able to do anything with the grace the vampires around her had.

"I like to spend my nights alone these days." Paige answered firmly but without trying to sound too harsh. She knew all too well that vampires didn't handle rejection well and didn't feel like being on the receiving end of this particular one's wrath, especially not with all the things that had been running through her mind the past two days she'd been in Dallas. She had enough to deal with as it was.

The organization she was apart of had one mission; to help protect the vampires. Of course, not many vampires knew about them since so many of them were adamant that they needed no help from humans, but the higher ranking vampires were well aware of their efforts. She had joined a year ago and had quickly moved up in rank, becoming one of the main leaders of the division in Texas at the young age of twenty four. When the organization had learned of the disappearance of the Sheriff of Dallas, they'd taken action. Paige hadn't been assigned to this particular mission, no, she'd _demanded _to lead the mission.

And she knew why, even though she denied it.

Up until the previous night, everything had been going according to plan. She and her partner had arranged a meeting with Isabel and Stan, the two vampires currently working under the missing Sheriff, and had been staked out in the hotel as they waited for the day to approach. They mingled with the crowds, kept their ears open for any rumors going around, and kept in close contact with their base. She thought everything would go off without a hitch.

What Paige _hadn't _been counting on was seeing _him_. And it had nearly done her in the instant she'd spotted him from across the room as he walked towards the elevators with two other companions. Of course he would be there. She knew of his bond with the missing Sheriff. She was probably one of the very few people who did.

The vampire before her tilted his head, studying her silently in a way that probably would have irked any other human girl in her situation. "And why is that?" He asked in a low voice. She knew the look that was taking over his expression and felt her stomach flip over for a moment.

Paige shrugged up at him casually, trying to appear nonchalant. "I have a lot going on right now. In fact…" She said, spotting her partner weaving through the crowd towards her. "If you don't mind, the business I came here for is about to begin." Paige went to move past him but the vampire reached out quickly, gripping her arm in a vice grip. She wasn't the least bit surprised when she looked up to see that his fangs were exposed. "I have a very important meeting to go to with very important people. I'd suggest releasing me." Paige said calmly.

The vampire let out a low, warning sound and she was about to ask him again when Gary, her partner, stepped up next to them. "Is there a problem here?" He asked, the tone in his voice letting everyone know he wouldn't be pushed around. He was larger then the vampire and towered over him but Paige knew he wouldn't last in a fight against him.

The vampire looked at Gary then looked all around him. They'd attracted a small amount of attention and vampire let out another growl before released her very reluctantly. He didn't say another word before stalking off, leaving Paige and Gary behind.

Gary glanced around then smirked down at her. "You sure have a knack for attracting trouble, Collins." He commented before placing a hand on her shoulder and leading her through the crowd towards the elevators.

"Are they ready for us?" Paige asked him, ignoring his comment, as she pressed the button to take them up.

Gary nodded and leaned against the wall. "Yeah…they seem intrigued to know why a couple of humans requested a meeting with them. And I think they have a few other vampires they're meeting with right now, if the information I wormed out of the bellboy is anything to go by." He said, glancing up at the numbers above the elevator as they displayed the metal box's impending arrival, before looking down at her. "Do you think it's with –?" He started to ask.

"I don't know." Paige quickly interrupted, her cheeks flushing.

Gary was the only one of her friends who knew about _him_. He was the only one she thought she could trust with the knowledge of her past, especially considering who was in that past. Gary had been the one to listen to her vent after she'd seen him in the lobby and Gary had been the one to calm her down afterward.

Gary nodded, holding his hands up in defense as the elevators dinged and they stepped aboard, Gary pressing the correct button for the floor they were headed to. Paige sighed again and rested her forehead against the cool metal of the wall, nerves blossoming all over her body. She didn't know if _he _was the one in that meeting with Isabel and Stan, but it would only make sense if he was. He would have caught wind of the missing Sheriff and would have wanted to come and find out what was going on for himself. Paige knew him too well to discard that obvious fact.

It didn't make it any easier. She'd never planned on seeing him again, not after the way she left him.

They arrived to their designated floor quickly, and she knew it was probably because she was suddenly dreading going anywhere near the room he could possibly be in. When she didn't budge from her spot, Gary literally shoved her out ahead of him and followed close behind her so she could turn to leave. She'd never hated him so much.

"We're going to be in and out. It's not a big deal, Paige." He reminded her as they walked a bit too quickly for her taste towards the looming double doors at the end of the hallway. She gulped and nodded, trying to believe his words. Paige knew when it came to _him _that nothing was that easy. If he was in there, then she was going to be in for a world of trouble.

They stopped in front of her doors and Paige jumped when Gary knocked firmly three times. She barely could even catch her breath to try and calm herself down when the door was opened quickly, a vampire dressed in cowboy attire staring down at them.

"You must be from C.A.V.D." He said slowly, sizing them up. Gary nodded in confirmation and the vampire smirked. "I am Stan." He revealed, not bothering to shake Gary's hand when he stretched it out toward the vampire politely. "Follow me." He said before turning on his heel to walk away.

Paige shared a look with Gary before stepping in, Gary shutting the door behind him when he also crossed the threshold into the room. Paige could hear conversation in the next room as they made their way toward it and nearly stumbled when an all too familiar voice reached her ears.

"We were quite surprised by your request. We don't have audiences with humans often." Stan drawled, walking leisurely as he cast a look at them over his shoulder. Paige knew she should speak up, knew that if she didn't it would rouse suspicion in the not-so-easily-trusting vampires, but she couldn't get a syllable past her lips.

At least not until Gary nudged her hard. "It was important that we meet with you." Paige said quickly and louder then she had intended. The voice that had been speaking, _his _voice, cut off abruptly and she cringed, swallowing thickly. "We…we couldn't do anything without your consent." She finally added timidly.

Stan looked very interested now and paused outside the open doorway leading into the room that held Isabel and _him_, plus probably his companions. Paige wanted to look in, wanted to see where he was and what his expression had to be. It had been one year and four months since she'd last laid eyes on him, and she found herself not only antsy, but also a bit nauseous. What would he think? Did he hate her? Did he even remember her? He had to. _She _certainly hadn't forgotten _him_.

"Is that so?" He asked before looking her up and down and then motioning for her to walk in first. "You have my attention." But Paige couldn't bring herself to move. She knew what was waiting for her on the other side of that wall and her heart was about to burst through her chest. Gary sighed and gave her one strong shove, strong enough to push her into the next room.

Immediately, as though by some magnetic force, her eyes landed on his spot not five feet away from her. There were three other people in the room but in that split second, he was the only one she saw. Paige glanced at his shoes first, taking in the casual attire he wore as her eyes trailed upward. Her gaze landed on his jacket and she was sure her hand would never stop shaking.

_She _had gotten him that jacket.

Same broad shoulders, same strong frame, much shorter hair. Then she finally locked her gaze onto his shocked, icy blue eyes.

**A/N: Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yeah, I know the first one was short. It was a prologue! Hang in there with me! You know you want to, haha. **

**Enjoy!**

**--**

_Two years ago_…

Paige gulped as they walked through the casino, eyeballing the slot machines with an unwavering feeling of greed and yearning. They were supposed to be there for a fun weekend, nothing to take too seriously, but it wasn't Paige's first time to be in a casino. It wasn't Hillary's fault that she had brought Paige right to the very thing that was her biggest weakness.

She had a gambling problem. She'd had one since she turned twenty one the previous year and had come to this very casino in Bossier City named DiamondJacks. That first weekend she'd blown away all her money, but she'd come back again and again, determined to find some kind of success. Now she could hardly resist gambling in any sense of the word.

Hillary was one of her closest friends and she'd wanted to come here for her bachelorette party so they could unwind and try something new. Paige had tried hard to convince her that she didn't want to go there for her party, that she didn't want to gamble, but there was no telling her otherwise. Hillary wanted to gamble and knew that Paige had been here before. She wanted Paige to show her and the other girls the way. It was the hardest thing she'd done thus far in her life, try to hide her problem while showing them a good time.

"You know what I heard?" Paige's friend Anna asked, the two of them walking in the middle of the group with their arms linked. Hillary was right in front of her and their large crowd was drawing a lot of attention from the other gamblers.

"What?" Paige asked distractedly, eyeing a black jack table with a sort of hungry expectation.

"I heard there are _tons _of vampires in Louisiana." Anna whispered, looking around quickly to try to spot one of the individuals in question. Paige looked at her quickly, then laughed nervously. The vampires had just come out to the world a handful of month previous, and while Paige had never met or run into one, she didn't know how she felt about their existence. Part of her was curious while the other was terrified.

"Oh yeah?" She asked.

Anna nodded quickly. "And I even heard there's already some vampire club up not far from here." Then she giggled. "If Hillary _really _wants to have a good time, we should go and check it out."

"Check what out?" Jamie, their other friends asked as she dropped back to talk with them. Paige only knew five or six of the girls in their group and smiled at Jamie as she also linked her arm through hers.

"That vampire club." Anna whispered excitedly. Jamie's jaw dropped in shock and she blinked at Anna in surprise.

"I can't believe you want to go there!" Jamie scolded. Paige knew that Jamie wasn't very accepting of vampires and that she'd rather have never known about them. They'd talked about it one night while they were watching the news at their work one night while waiting to head home.

"It's just an idea!" Anna defended immediately, huffing at her friend. "You have _no _sense of adventure." She accused before turning her nose up stubbornly. Paige rolled her eyes, momentarily forgetting her dilemma with her surroundings, and shook her head at her two friends. They usually got along pretty well but when it came to certain subjects, it was easy for them to disagree.

Paige looked over to see that Hillary had run up to the massive bar and was talking to the bartended excitedly, motioning back to her group of friends making up the bachelorette party and demanding some free drinks. The bartender laughed and offered two rounds on the house before setting to work at getting their drinks ready. Paige leaned against the bar as people around her began taking photo after photo and eyed the gambling tables nearby.

Tonight was going to be the death of her.

After getting their first drinks, half of the girls wandered off towards the slot machines, figuring it would be safer if they went that route. Paige already knew that _nothing _in the casino was safe. She opted to stay near the bar with a few of the other girls and talk with the bartender and some of the other patrons, trying to stay away from the tables. They got up to their antics, requesting vulgar things from some of the younger guys that came up to talk to them, and Paige just laughed, sipping her drinks as she had a good time with her friends.

A good hour passed by and Paige was starting to feel confident that this night would go smoothly, that she'd resist temptation and she'd make it back to the hotel with a full pocket. That was until she looked over to where Anna was talking quietly in Hillary's ear and when Paige moved closer, she could have sworn she heard Anna say something along the lines of 'vampire club'. Hillary's eyes lit up with excitement and Paige knew that she'd already been convinced. Hillary was always up for something new.

Jamie was nearby and didn't look happy at all. It wasn't even close to midnight yet and they shared a look, both of them knowing that if Hillary wanted to go there, they weren't going to be able to stop her.

"Look." One of the girls near her gasped.

Paige turned and looked behind her curiously, wondering what could have grabbed the girls attention like that and make her eyes go so wide. She searched around, watching as some people near the poker tables dispersed and moved out of the way for a few people coming through the area. Once they were out of the way, Paige had clear view of who the girl next to her was looking at.

He was very tall, with blonde hair that brushed his shoulders and a large, strong looking frame. He walked with an air of confidence and an air of power, one that sparked curiosity in her at once. He was regarding the people around him with boredom and he walked over to the couches not far from the bar, easing onto a seat gracefully as the woman at his side followed suit.

It was obvious in an instant that they were both vampires. Paige couldn't tear her eyes away from them, especially the excruciatingly handsome blonde vampire that was lounging on the couch like he owned the place. She couldn't believe their luck. They come to the Shreveport area the weekend and on the first night they run into a couple of vampires. She wondered if there were more in the casino right then and she just hadn't seen them.

"Do they come here often?" Anna asked the bartender excitedly, leaning over Paige to do so. Paige raised her head unconsciously, trying to get a better look, and immediately blushed when the blonde vampire's eyes landed on hers.

The bartended glanced over towards the vampires a bit darkly. "More often in the past few weeks then usual, yes." He said, leaning closer to Anna. Paige tore her eyes away from the blonde Adonis across the room and paid more attention to what the bartender was saying, as were many of the other girls. "That vampire club, Fangtasia I think it's called, it's not far from here. And they make the rounds around this time at night to try to get some more patrons over there." He explained in his thick drawl. "They think they draw people to them with their looks and mystery…more like _misery _if you ask me…" He scowled before walking over to help other people ordering drinks.

Anna looked beside herself with excitement. "You hear that? They're from _Fangtasia_! It's meant to be. We _have _to go there." She said to anyone who would listen. Immediately a few of the other girls walked away to go and preoccupy themselves with something else going on in the casino but Hillary was looking very tempted.

"Hill…" Paige said warningly.

"What?" She asked with a grin. "It's my _bachelorette _party." She reminded Paige just in case she'd forgotten. Paige had a feeling Hillary would have used this as an excuse. "We're here to have fun and try new things, right?" She asked with a shrug, glancing over at the two vampires. A few girls that looked to be a few years older them had wandered over there and were talking to the vampires. Neither vampire looked particularly interested, seeing as they were looking everywhere but at the girls as they spoke to them.

"Yeah, but don't you want to live to marry your fiancé?" Jamie asked incredulously, her hands on her hips as she looked over at the vampires. Paige followed her gaze again and found that the woman who'd come with the blonde vampire was leading the girls that had approached them out of the bar. Anna let out a disgruntled noise and crossed her arms.

"Look! _They're _going!" Anna argued.

"I'll go." Kim, one of Hillary's friends, offered. Anna immediately thanked her, looking a bit smug, and Jamie looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Hillary shrugged as another one of her friends offered to join them. Jamie immediately looked over towards Paige, wanting some kind of backup.

Paige was torn. A part of her _did _want to see what the club was all about and get away from this torturous casino, but at the same time she was terrified to go in a place like that. They had no idea what could be waiting for them. For all they knew, they were luring humans in there so they could feast on them or turn them into vampires. If they went in, they might never see the light of day again.

"Well, _we're _going." Anna said, grabbing Hillary's hand. Paige's jaw dropped as she watched Hillary, Anna, Kim, and Vanessa, the other friend who'd spoken up, make a dash for the exit to follow the other group. Jamie and Paige shared a shocked look and Jamie went with a few other girls to try and stop them. Paige shook her head, suddenly finding herself alone at the bar.

Great. This was _exactly _how the weekend was supposed to turn out. Half of their party was off to get eaten alive by a bunch of vampires and here she was sweating buckets because the slot machine was practically serenading her by that point. Paige quickly turned to the bartender and motioned him over.

"I'd like a vodka and Redbull, and quickly." She said, glancing over at the machines again. The bartender nodded, sending another dark look towards the couches, and Paige followed his gaze. She froze.

The vampire was staring unblinkingly at her.

When he noticed that he had her attention he titled his head to the side a bit, his eyes trailing over the rest of her form. It wasn't just nervousness that erupted in her under his gaze and she downed half of her drink as soon as it was placed in front of her. Then she stood and turned to go towards the slot machines quickly. A few of the girls from their party were there and she lounged near them, her fingers itching to take out a coin and play along with them.

"Paige, did Hillary really go to that vampire club?" One of the girls asked, moving closer. "Jamie said something like that when she walked by in a fluster."

Paige nodded. "Yeah. Jamie went to try and stop them, though I don't think it's going to work. Hillary seemed pretty convinced, so did Anna, Kim, and Vanessa." She explained, finishing the rest of her drink when she realized the vampire had moved from his spot on the couch and had taken her vacated place at the bar. He was having a conversation with the bartender, but his eyes were turned in the direction of where she was standing. It was unnerving.

"Should we go after them?" Another girl asked. "I feel bad staying here and having fun while they're out there and getting themselves into trouble." She said in concern. Many of the other girls voiced their agreement and even began to head in that direction. Paige followed them slowly, fiddling with the hem of her sequined tank top nervously.

"I don't know if I want to go in there. And we don't even know where it is!" She tried to reason with the group as they got further away. "And what if they come back?" She called after them. They were discussing different routs to take and where the club could possibly be located.

"We'll meet you at the door! Tell the bartender to give them a message if they come back! And I'm sure we can find this place." The nearest party member called out before heading towards the door. "We'll be right outside waiting for you!" Then they walked away and Paige was left standing there all alone.

Immediately, she knew the vampire had watched the entire exchange. His gaze was practically burning holes in her shirt and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them and turning around to face the bar. Sure enough, he was leaning casually with his back against the counter of the bar, his whole body facing her. She bit her lip and slowly walked over, wringing her hands together nervously. Paige had never once thought she'd be this close to a vampire, but she was about to just feet from him. And _why _was he watching her like that?

Paige spared him more then a few glances, his gaze unwavering as he watched her near him, and she stopped at the space of the bar that was a handful of feet away from him. "Er, sorry to bother you…" She started nervously, glancing at the handsome vampire again. The bartended paused in what he was doing and nodded, leaning his elbows on the bar as he paid full attention to her. "But, we're going after our friends who just left. Should they come back looking for us, could you maybe tell them we're out looking for them and we'll be back at some point tonight?"

The bartended glanced at the vampire, who was listening with a slightly _less _bored expression on his face, and leaned closer. "Sure…where should I tell them you went to if they come back before you do?" He asked, taking out a scrap piece of paper to write down the name. Paige flushed with embarrassment. The vampire near her had come with the intention of getting more patrons for the club he must work for and here she was revealing that's exactly where she was going. What if he followed her? What if he attacked her?

"Er….F-Fang-Fangtasia." She stuttered out before biting her lip. "Ok, thanks. Bye." She then said quickly, turning and heading for the exit. Paige felt so stupid. She could only imagine what that vampire must be thinking of right then.

"If you're looking for Fangtasia," a voice suddenly said near her ear, making her jump in surprise and turn to look at him, a hand over her suddenly pounding heart. It was the vampire. He'd followed her. For a moment his eyes flicked down to where her hand was resting then his gaze bore into hers. "I would be ideal for directions." He finished, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared down at her.

He was much taller then her. He had to be at least six foot five, just two inches shy of being a full foot taller then herself. Up close he was extremely pale, but even more handsome, and she suddenly forgot how to form coherent words. His left eyebrow twitched upward and Paige gulped.

"Do you remember how to speak?" He inquired, not as much as one hint of amusement on his features.

Paige shook herself out of her stupor. "Y-Yes. Of course I do." She said, slightly offended. What could he expect of her? Obviously he had to realize by her surprise and the curious looks she'd shot at him that she'd never seen a vampire before. Then she crossed her arms. "Do you know how to announce your presence so you don't scare people half to death?"

She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Paige saw the way his expression became highly annoyed, even angry, and suddenly wondered if she'd just signed death certificate in her own blood. He moved a fraction closer and she backed away quickly. Why was no one in the casino doing anything? Shouldn't someone be coming to her rescue? The she remembered that everyone was probably just as terrified of him as she currently was.

"Have you ever met a vampire before, little girl?" He asked rudely, his massive arms moving to cross over his chest.

"No." She answered timidly. "You're the first."

He nodded slowly. "Then I'll forgive you for your attitude this once." His tone let her know that he completely serious with what he was saying. She wondered just what the hell made him think he had the right to treat her like he was a king and she was some peasant on the street who had just accidentally spilled pig slop on his best shoes, but she bit her tongue from saying anything else. He was definitely giving off the impression that if she messed with him, he would have no problem striking back.

"What's your name?" He asked her, mild interest showing on his features.

She looked him up and down for a moment, sure that he could have heard someone call her by her name while he was seated at the bar, but decided to just answer him anyway. "Paige."

He nodded again. "Well, Paige," Something about the way her name rolled off his tongue made her kneecaps suddenly turn into mush. "Why would a girl such as yourself be going to a place like Fangtasia?" He asked, beginning to walk for the exit. Paige was unsure if she should follow him, but when he turned and shot her an annoyed look she hurried to catch up.

"I'm sure you heard we're going to look for our friends. We're here for my good friend's bachelorette party and she decided it would be fun to see what a vampire club was like." She explained quietly, keeping her distance from him. He was studying her and she gulped again. "What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?" He retorted quickly.

Paige stopped, staring up at him as they reached the door. He didn't move to push it open and simply met her stare. "I'm not going anywhere with you until I get your name." She said, forgetting her previous caution.

Again his eyebrow rose up and he looked irritated for a moment before nodding. "Eric."

Paige nodded. "Well, then, Eric…if you could just tell me how to get to Fangtasia that would be awfully kind of you. I'll make sure to tell your boss you brought in tons of new club-goers." She said, going to push the door open. Paige had barely opened it when Eric grabbed the handle and slammed it back shut, his hand covering hers. Fear, as well as another feeling, rushed through her at the contact.

Eric had an expression on his face that said he wouldn't be argued with. "I own Fangtasia. And you'll do well to have me escort you if you want to make it back out of the building after gathering your friends." He said just loud enough for her to hear and sounding very menacing. Lord, what _had _they gotten themselves into? Was Fangtasia that dangerous or was he just being dramatic?

"Is it…is it that dangerous?" She asked him meekly.

Eric moved closer, his eyes studying her face for a long moment before slowly reaching up touch one long strand of her red hair. Paige gulped and saw his eye drop down to her neck. "Many vampires are not yet used to having humans in their presence so…willingly. It would be very dangerous for you to walk around without protection." Eric explained before moving his hand away from her hair. Paige wasn't sure when she had stopped breathing but she gasped in air when he pushed the door open.

The chatter of her friends died immediately when they caught site of Eric. He eyed them as Paige stepped out after him, her breathing a bit accelerated. Eric was definitely dangerous, she knew that right away. He was also very intimidating and Paige didn't know if it scared her or attracted her. "This is…Eric. He owns Fangtasia. He's going to take us to find the others." Paige quickly explained before hurrying to the front of the group. The girls gasped as they followed her and it was because Eric was suddenly at her side.

"It isn't far." He said dully, his eyes on their surroundings as he led the group of six girls down the road. "Had I known I would be showing six human girls the sites of Shreveport I would have purchased a van." He added after a moment. Paige looked up at him, unsure if he was trying to be funny or not. "Hopefully your friends are unharmed when we arrive." Eric then said, his eyebrows twitching as a tiny smirk appeared in the corner of his mouth. So much for humor.

--

Jamie was outside of the club with the girls she'd run out of the casino with, all of them looking both agitated and terrified to be outside a vampire club. The woman that had arrived with Eric was standing in front of them with another vampire, a stoic expression on her face. Eric stepped a bit ahead of Paige, walking up to the two vampires.

"Why are we not letting in these patrons?" He asked, crossing his arms and regarding the group.

"They want to take away some of our business. I told them I'd be happy to let them in if they stayed." She explained with a bored shrug. "We can't seem to reach a compromise."

Jamie looked back at Paige, as did the girls that had come with Paige and Eric, and she slowly stepped forward. Eric's eyes were immediately on her, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Eric…" She said slowly. The vampires looked surprised. "We really need to just get them out of there. It's getting late and we have places to be tomorrow." She tried to reason.

Eric looked down at the female then motioned her closer. She moved forward a bit hesitantly. "Let us strike a deal, Paige." He said, glancing at the others. "If I let you go in and collect your friends, you must return tomorrow night with four others." Paige's jaw dropped and Eric smirked. "I have to keep my business running, do I not?"

Paige bit her lip, glancing at her friends. Jamie shook her head vehemently but Paige kept having terrible images cross her mind of Hillary being eaten alive by a group of vampires. She looked back up at Eric and crossed her arms. "How long do we have to stay tomorrow night?" She asked, meeting his stare. Again, the vampires looked surprised, and Eric looked annoyed again.

"Your tongue will bring you trouble some day, Paige." Eric snapped. Then he tilted his head. "One hour."

"With your full protection?" Paige asked.

"Yes."

She nodded once in agreement. "Fine. Now let me in." Eric gave her a stern look before stepping aside and motioning her to go in before him. She did so and had to take a deep breath when she felt his presence close behind her.

Paige gaped at her surroundings. Surprisingly, the club was crowded. There were vampires decked from head to toe in leather dancing on tables and there were even more vampires mingling in the crowd with humans and vampires alike. She gulped as a few male vampires leered at her, but when they caught sight of Eric they quickly turned their eyes away. Paige could barely hear herself think over the pumping music but ignored it, searching for any sign of Hillary.

"You've gained a lot of attention…just as I suspected." Eric said in her ear. "Vampires can smell…purity." He said, his nose dangerously close to her neck. Paige gulped and turned around quickly to face him, not sure if she liked him being that close or not. Eric again studied her then lifted his eyes, pointing to an area near the back. "I'll collect them, then." He said before disappearing.

Paige didn't have much time to consider being frightened now that Eric had left her alone. Just as she was recovering from his closeness and his comment, he was returning with her friends in tow. Thankfully, none of them seemed the least bit injured. "Pam took care of them." Eric said with a smirk.

"Do we have to go?" Hillary asked Paige. "I'm having _so _much fun!" She said, clapping excitedly.

"Yes, now go. The others are waiting for you." Paige said, ushering them out of the door. Eric was waiting for her to face him again and when she did he moved closer. "W-What time do you expect us tomorrow?"

"I expect you at midnight sharp." Eric said firmly. "And if you're one minute late, I _will _come and collect you myself. And that is not what you want me to do, Paige." Paige gulped and nodded. "Go."

Without another word, a confused and uneasy Paige turned and left the club, vampires moving out of the way for her as she did. She glanced back and Eric was still watching her. He obviously had power, that much was obvious. As soon as the other vampires had realized she was with him, they'd turned their attention elsewhere. Paige had no idea what Eric was all about or what he wanted from her, but she definitely had a feeling she was going to find out.

--

**A/N: Review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm pleased with the response I've gotten from this story. I wish my on demand was working so I could watch a specific episode from this season but it isn't! It's so frustrating. **

**Oh well. Ya'll will soon find it that while the story is based around events taking place in the show, it's more like loosely based, ya know? So yeah, hope you're liking what I'm doing! **

**And it's always nice to see new readers! Yay!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

"I can't believe you're doing this." Jamie said, her eyes following her as Paige paced the room, stopping every few seconds to run her hand through her hair.

"I don't have a choice, Jame. He said he'd come and get me himself if I didn't show up." Paige reminded her, grabbing for her cell phone to check and see what the time was. It was nearly eleven thirty and she knew they'd have to leave soon. She'd been trying hard to push her nerves down the entire day, but the girls had constantly talked about it and she hadn't been able to stop her mind from racing at the thought of him.

"What does he even _want_?" Jamie asked, sounding a bit angry. "We're not even going to see him again after this, we don't even _live _here!"

"I know." Paige snapped, coming to a stop in front of her bed. Jamie stared up at her, clamping her lips closed at once. "I'm sorry." Paige sighed, plopping onto the bed next to her. "I just never thought I'd meet a vampire and now one is demanding my presence. And I have no idea what he wants with me…probably to drink my blood or turn me into a vampire…" She said, trying to sound like she was joking and making light of the situation. Jamie didn't laugh.

A knock sounded on the door and they both jumped before Paige stalked over quickly to answer it. Anna, Kim, Vanessa, and one of the other girls from their party named Zoë were on the other side. Anna and Kim looked a bit excited; Vanessa and Zoë didn't look very thrilled at all. "Ready to go?" Anna asked, leaning against the door frame. Paige took a deep breath then nodded, walking back into the room to grab her small purse.

"Paige!" Jamie said, leaping off the bed to run up to her. She hesitated for a moment before giving her a tight hug. "Please, _please _look after yourself." She murmured, pulling far enough away so that Paige could see the worry etched on her friend's face.

Paige smiled in spite of everything. "I'm _always _careful." She said, patting Jamie's head, before turning to leave with the others.

She didn't know if Jamie had believed her, but Paige couldn't even convince herself the entire way to Fangtasia. She had no idea what she was in store for and there was no guarantee she'd make it out of the place in one piece for the second night in a row. Of course, if anyone wanted to injure her, Eric had promised full protection. She still couldn't be sure he would keep to his word, but she had to trust it for now. And if _Eric _wanted to injure her, he could have done it the previous night. That had to be somewhat comforting.

She almost cringed when they reached the club, a familiar vampire standing outside and checking identification from the people standing in line. Pam smirked when they approached and held out her palm towards Paige. She looked at the pale hand in confusion, not sure what Pam wanted. "Identification?" Pam asked with a quirk of her eyebrow and a tone that sounded as though she were talking to a seven year old.

"Really?" Paige asked in disbelief. Eric had _demanded _they come back. She didn't think this would be necessary.

Pam frowned, her eyes narrowing a bit. "Eric may let you talk to him how you please but _I _will not. Keep your lips sealed around me and hand over your identification. Now." She said in a low, warning growl. Paige and the others immediately fished out their identification cards, most of their hands fumbling around in their nervousness. Pam only bothered with Paige's card though and scrutinized it carefully. "Twenty two…so young." She said before shoving the card back into her hand. "Next time, dress up a little bit." She called after her when she allowed the group to pass through.

Paige looked down at her jeans and nice white blouse. She hadn't thought that she had needed to dress up too much, but she certainly hadn't thought she'd looked frumpy. Besides, what was the need to dress up for when she wasn't coming here to try to impress anyone?

"What do you think Eric wants with us?" Anna asked in her ear, her eyes roaming over the crowd. Paige recognized many of the same patrons from the night before and once again they stepped out of her way as they passed through. Eric had to have more power then just owning a nightclub; that would be the only explanation for the way they were acting around her. Sure, is she was a vampire she wouldn't want to anger the club owner of her favorite place, but they didn't have to go to _these _lengths to stay away.

"Here…let's get a drink." Vanessa said, grabbing Paige's arm and leading her towards the bar. Anna and Kim followed, as did Zoë. Paige was suddenly glad it was just the five of them. Hillary had tried to come with them but they had insisted she stay back. If anyone was about to be held prisoner by vampires or fed on, Hillary wasn't going to be one of them. As soon as they were seated at the bar, a burly vampire with long hair come to serve them.

"It's on the house tonight, ladies." He said, eyeing each of them for a long moment before resting his eyes on Paige. He set a drink down in front of her and pushed it against her hand. "Mr. Northman requests an audience when he's finished with his work." He said before turning to make drinks for the other girls. She briefly wondered who he was talking about then realized he was talking about Eric.

Paige shared a sideway glance with Kim before sipping her drink. It was another vodka and Redbull and she blinked in surprise. He must have heard her order the drink the previous night and remembered, not like it was her favorite drink by any means. She turned her stool around to glance out over the club. Again there were vampires dancing on tables, many of them moving so quickly she could hardly tell what moves they were doing, while both humans and vampires watched them with interest.

"Who knew so many humans were interested in vampires." Anna commented, a drink now in her hand. Paige nodded, her eyes landing on a small, lifted stage that held what looked unmistakably like a throne with a few ordinary chairs around it. "Look at that guy. He's practically begging like a dog." She said, pointing out a middle aged man who was at the feet of a very uninterested looking female vampire.

"What do you suppose that is?" Paige asked, nodding towards the stage. A few vampires walked past them, greedy looks in their eyes, but they didn't stop to say anything to them.

"The place they sacrifice humans?" Zoë asked with an amused grin on her face, hiding it behind her glass when Vanessa shot her a look that told her to shut her mouth.

"Sometimes." The bartended said from behind them, making them turn around with a shocked look on all of their faces. His expression didn't give away if he was telling the truth or not but Paige didn't know if she wanted to find out. "It's usually where Mr. Northman holds his meetings." Then he smirked at Paige. "But your meeting will be in his private office."

Her eyes widened and she nodded slowly, swallowing hard. She was going to have a _private _meeting with him? Only her? Not her friends, too? Now she was really beginning to wonder what Eric wanted from her. She recalled with a sinking feeling that he'd mentioned being able to smell her 'purity'; perhaps _that _was what he wanted from her. But surely not, there were much more attractive girls in the room then her.

The bartender glanced towards a doorway then nodded once, looking back at Paige with a smug smirk. "He's ready for you." He said, pointing towards a door to her left. It was all the way at the back of the club and along the route to it there were vampires loitering in every direction. She didn't know if she felt comfortable going through that crowd. "You won't be harmed." The bartender said before nodding his head to the door. "Go before he comes and gets you."

Paige nodded and jumped up, her friends doing the same. They stayed behind reluctantly when the bartended informed them they were to stay put and she glanced back at them helplessly as she walked through the crowd, most of the vampires moving aside for her to get through easily. Only a few began to move towards her, the leers on their faces making her stomach twist unpleasantly, but they were stopped quickly by whatever companion they'd arrive with.

Paige didn't even have a chance to knock on the dark wooden door in front of her. As soon as she was in front of it, her hand poised to knock, it opened quickly. Eric was standing right in front of her, his eyes roaming for a moment before he stepped aside to let her in. The vampires nearest to them had fallen silent as they watched her enter his office, Eric casting a warning look out towards his patrons.

"You were on time. I was happy to hear it, Ms. Collins." He said as he closed the door, turning around to stride towards her very slowly. Paige clutched her drink tighter in her hand and wrapped an arm around herself, feeling nervous now that she was in his presence.

Eric looked even better then she'd remembered. His hair was pushed back out of his face a bit more and his eyes seemed even more pronounced as he neared her. Paige was surprised to see how built his arms and torso were since he'd forgone wearing a jacket and was only in a fitted black shirt. One large hand moved towards her neck and plucked at the collar of her short sleeved blouse, a tiny smirk appearing at the corner of his lips as he moved a fraction closer. Paige had to cran her neck to look up at him.

"If Pam had informed me you were even a moment past midnight, I would have come right to your hotel and retrieved you myself." Eric revealed, walking around her in a slow circle. "You would _not _have wanted that, Paige."

"W-Why…why do you want us here?" She finally asked, locating her voice again when he came to a halt directly in front of her.

"Us?" Eric asked, his eyebrows rising a bit. "I merely requested the presence of your friends so you wouldn't get mauled the moment you entered the club. You are the only one I wish to converse with." He said before walking over to the desk and easing himself gracefully into the chair, his fingertips pressing together over his lips. "Sit." He said, motioning with a hand quickly before resuming his pose.

Paige did as he said, bringing her drink up to her lips quickly. She needed it. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. She needed to find a way to calm down. Eric glanced at the glass and she did too. "Thank you for the drink." She said, trying to sound conversational. She had no idea what to say seeing as she had no idea why she was here.

Eric smirked but not in a menacing way. "I figured your drink order would make you feel more relaxed."

"Yes, it does. A Long Island Ice Tea would have been even better." Paige joked before immediately shutting her lips tightly together. Eric's expression had gone blank and he glared at the glass in her hands for a moment before looking back up at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"The drink I left for you displeases you?" He asked in a neutral tone. Paige had the feeling she needed to choose her next words very carefully.

"No, of course not." She said adamantly. "Long Islands are just my drink of choice on most nights. I have no problems with this one what so ever." She assured him, nodding quickly.

"I have seen you in Shreveport before." Eric said as he began to sort through some papers on his desk, changing subject quickly. Paige wanted to stretch her neck to see what he was looking at but resisted the temptation. Besides, his words were a shock to her. He'd seen her around before? When? Where? "You've gambled in the same casino the last three times that I've seen you." He continued, not bothering to look at her. "Why?"

Paige was a bit at a loss for words. He'd made her come back to Fangtasia simply to ask her why she continued to throw her money away at the same place? And why had he never spoken to her before if he was so curious? How long had he been watching her and what else did he know? "I don't know, really. I like familiar surroundings I suppose." She said suspiciously. "Why?" She asked him.

Eric looked at her for a brief moment before diving into another folder. "Because, Paige Collins from Houston, Texas…I'm interested in investing in the casino and wanted to see if it would be in my best interest to do so." He said casually.

Paige's jaw dropped. "How do you know where I'm from?"

Eric looked at her with slight amusement in his smirk. "You showed Pam your driver's license before you walked through the door, do you not remember?"

Paige nodded in understanding, taking another sip from her drink to keep from saying anything smart as a retort to his condescending question. "Just who are you, Eric Northman?" She asked, crossing her legs and finally leaning back into her chair a bit.

"Why," He asked, his eyes flashing up to meet hers, "do you continue to ask me so many questions. I didn't bring you here so that I could be interviewed."

Paige scowled at him. "Yes, but you do seem to know a fair amount about me considering I met you yesterday and yet you refuse to tell me anything about you. If you're going to take up my time, I expect to know at least something about you." She said in irritation. Eric was watching her from across his desk and she knew she was probably pushing it but wanted to get her point across regardless. She stood quickly, Eric's eyebrow lifting dangerously. "If you aren't up for sharing, then neither am I." She said before turning on her heel to leave.

She didn't make it two steps before Eric was grabbing her by the wrist and slamming her none too gently against the nearest wall, his face inches from hers as his body pinned her into place. Paige gasped, her eyes wide as she stared up at the storm that was brewing behind his icy blue eyes. He stared at her for a long moment, her heart racing when he leaned closer and trailed the very tip of his nose along her throat. She was terrified out of her mind, yes. And at the same time, she'd never wanted anyone as badly as she wanted him just then.

"You…should not…test my patience." Eric said, his voice sounding gravelly as he pressed closer to her. It was all she could do to not dig her fingers into the blonde hair that had fallen forward onto her cheek. The strands felt cool and silky on her skin and she had to take a deep breath.

That might have been a slight error in judgment on her part. Eric smelled incredible. She couldn't for the life of her single out what one scent it could have been, but she knew she'd never get enough of smelling it. His eyes finally rose to meet hers, his face so close she could have easily kissed him, but she didn't move one inch.

"Do you understand me, Paige?" Eric asked.

Paige didn't want to anger him further, but she wanted him to know he couldn't push her around as easily as he had been. If they were going to meet anymore, she needed to stand her ground. "Yes." She said slowly. The severity of Eric's expression dimmed and she smiled up at him as it did, making his eyes drop down to her mouth as his left eyebrow twitched up into an arc. "If you understand that I don't like to be spoken down to."

Eric slid one hand up her arm, awakening a trail of goosebumps in its path, over her shoulder, and onto her neck. He easily fit his hand around her throat but didn't squeeze, simply rested it there as he stared intently into her eyes. "I could kill you right now." He said in a low voice. "It would be too easy for me."

"I know." Paige said a bit shakily but with a firm look on her face.

Eric tilted his head. "And you're not afraid?" He asked her, showing more interest then she'd seen him show previously.

"No, I am." Paige admitted gently.

Eric smiled then and without warning his fangs appeared, making her jump. She'd never seen anything like it before and it unnerved her at the thought of what he could do with them. His thumb trailed over her jaw before making her tilt her head and expose her neck to him. "You…are fascinating." He said, lowering his mouth closer to her neck. "And I can only imagine how _exquisite _you would taste, Paige…" He trailed off.

She felt the briefest graze of his lips against her skin when he moved even closer and she gasped in air quickly, pressing her hands against his chest to try to push him away from her. He didn't budge an inch but he felt the pressure and lifted his head to meet her eyes.

"You're not allowed to bite me." Paige said firmly even as her heart was about to burst through her chest and her cheeks had to be tinged a permanent red color due to the desire currently racing through her veins.

Eric regarded her like he'd never seen anything like her before, his fangs disappearing as he moved back away from her. Paige felt regret _and _relief wash through her at the distance he'd put between them and watched him carefully as he clasped his hand behind his back. "I'm not, am I?" He asked her condescendingly.

"No, you're not." Paige restated, feeling herself to be in a bit better control of herself.

"What makes you think you could stop me if I wanted to taste you?" Eric asked, reaching across the foot of space between them to touch one of her locks of hair. Paige knew she wouldn't be able to stop him, but something told her he wouldn't do something to her she didn't want.

"I couldn't. You and I both know that." Paige said, leaving out the last bit she'd thought about.

Eric nodded slowly twice and retracted his hand. "There is much more that I want to learn from you, Ms. Collins." He said, turning his back to her as he walked back to his desk. "You will accompany me to DiamondJacks next weekend to speak with the manager. He doesn't trust me any further then he could throw me and I've seen you speak with him twice. Perhaps he'll be more willing to hear my propositions if you are in attendance." He explained, sitting on the edge of his desk that was closest to her.

Paige frowned. "I can't come to Shreveport every weekend, Eric. I have things to do in Houston."

Eric smirked and crossed his arms. "You have come to Shreveport for the past three weekends. I think one more weekend would be acceptable." Paige knew that there wasn't much room for argument and sighed, finally giving him a quick nod of agreement. "I'm the Sheriff of this area of Louisiana, Paige. The one vampire appointed to be in charge of and control all of the vampires inhabiting Area Five." He revealed. Paige understood then why no vampire that had seen her with Eric had tried to approach her. "I have business to attend to so you will be leaving now." He said, waving his hand as a dismissal.

Paige crossed her arms and stared at him in disbelief. Eric met her challenging gaze then smirked, standing up from his sitting position. "Didn't we just discuss something, Eric?" She asked him, cocking her head to the side.

"Yes." He said, a smirk of amusement on his face. "Have a good night, Paige."

Paige nodded in acceptance, figuring it was better then his original farewell. She turned to open the door when Eric was right behind her again, his hands on her waist as he leaned his nose down to press against the side of her neck. Paige gasped and gripped the door handle tightly, her other hand itching to rest on top of his. When Eric moved back and released her, she glanced at him over her shoulder. His fangs were bared again but this time it wasn't quite as shocking.

"I look forward to seeing you again, Ms. Collins." He said before resting a hand on top of hers and opening the door for her. The touch of his cold skin made her nerves jump to life and she nodded, swallowing thickly, quickly walking away from him to find her friends.

--

**A/N: Review!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hmm…tons of hits, not a ton of reviews. Does the story suck or something? Well…I like it dangit! Haha. **

**If you haven't gotten the new Black Eyed Peas CD, it's awesome. I suggest doing so! **

**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**--**

It was already the longest week of her life and it was only Wednesday. Paige sighed and ran her hands through her hair again, willing the words in front of her to make sense as she tried to read a book to pass the time. It was impossible. She couldn't concentrate on anything. She had to have read the same sentence seven times by now and she still had no idea what she had just read.

Her thoughts had been centered around nothing else but Eric since she had left him on Saturday night. There was something about him that made it impossible for her to think of anything else. Maybe it was the pure power he exuded or the no-nonsense attitude. Eric was of high status in his world and the thought of that both excited her and terrified her. There was obviously a level of interest on Eric's part, though she had no idea what for. She was a simple human working a dull job at a bookstore after forgoing college the previous year. Of course, Eric didn't know about that as far as she knew.

Paige had a history of living off of impulses. If she ever felt a job didn't fit her right or that something in her life wasn't what she needed at the time, she went with her instinct and left it in the past. That was probably why she'd gotten so wrapped up in the world of gambling recently. Before starting this job a month ago she had taken a trip around the Southern states, eventually ending up in Bossier City and at the blackjack table in DiamondJacks.

Perhaps she had been meant to meet Eric. And perhaps that was why she felt the undeniable pull towards him. It surely couldn't be just because he was a vampire. She'd read up on them when she arrived home and as far as she knew, Eric hadn't used any of his tricks on her. He very well could have if he wanted, but again the nagging suspicion he wouldn't do anything to her that was against her will came biting back at her.

Another thing had jumped out at her when she was doing her researched on the internet; an account from a person who had claimed to have been intimate with a vampire before had stated that sometimes their fangs would appear when they were…excited. Her heart had thumped wildly at the thought that she might have had that kind of affect on Eric, but she tried not to let herself get carried away with that thought. He had probably only been trying to intimidate her by showing them to her.

The bell on the door dinged to signal the arrival of a customer and Paige jumped, a foolish and momentary feeling that maybe it was Eric coursing through her. Then she remembered that while it _was _night time now, Eric had a community of vampires to sheriff back in Louisiana.

Paige leaned over the counter and peaked around the corner, smiling when she recognized the face walking towards her. "Andrew!' She said, setting her book down and walking around the counter to hug him.

"Paige! I was hoping you'd be the one working tonight." He said with a grin, ruffling her hair.

Andrew was a long-term family friend of hers. She'd known him for over seven years and he'd always been a good companion of hers, even though she was four years younger then him. He was friends with her brother and while there had always been hinting from him that maybe he was interested, he'd never acted upon it because of that relationship.

"What are you doing in town on a Wednesday?" She asked him curiously, knowing that he'd been working in a different city for that past year and half and usually only came into town on the weekends.

Andrew rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, a playful smile on his attractive face. "Good to know you've asked about me to see how I've been recently, Collins." He teased before leaning back against the counter. "I moved back yesterday. The job is finished and I've been relocated downtown." He revealed, making her clap her hands excitedly.

"Andrew! That's such good news!" Paige exclaimed, hugging him again. "So then what brings you around these parts?" She asked, motioning to the deserted bookstore around them when she pulled away from the hug.

Andrew shrugged, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "Well, I came to see if maybe you'd be interested in joining me for dinner tomorrow night." He said, looking hopeful.

Paige was surprised. Was he finally making a move after all this time? Paige smirked at him, a confused look crossing his face, and she poked him in the stomach playfully. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Andrew shrugged, a bashful grin appearing on his lips. "I'd like to, but if you don't want to call it a date then it can just be casual." He said, though the hopeful look never ceased in his gaze. Paige studied him for a moment, wondering if that was what she really wanted to do. After all, they were both single and now he wasn't living hours away from her. And he had always been a great friend. She was sure he'd be an even greater boyfriend.

So then was it impossible not to see Eric's face right then? Paige smiled and nodded. "It's a date." She confirmed.

Andrew grinned, looking ecstatic, and pulled her into a hug. He kissed her cheek when he pulled away and was about to say something when the door to the shop opened, drawing their attention away from each other and towards the person who'd just entered the shop. Paige immediately felt herself tense up when she recognized a familiar female face…a face who was currently sizing up Andrew with warning look.

"Pam. How nice to see you again." Paige called out, moving around Andrew to stand in front of him. He grabbed her wrist though and pulled her in close to him. He looked very alarmed and extremely uncomfortable.

"You know _vampires_?" He hissed in her ear, his arm wrapping around her protectively as he tried to situate himself in front of her, wanting to separate her from Pam. Paige sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, making him move.

"I know two, yes. And don't worry. I'm not going to be harmed." _At least not today_, Paige thought to herself before moving towards Pam again. She motioned Andrew to stay behind, not sure if Pam was sizing up Andrew out of interest or annoyance. Either way, the outcome wouldn't be good. "You came an awfully long way to find a book." She joked, trying to ease the tension in the room. Pam didn't look amused.

"I have a message from Eric, which, thanks to current…affairs," She started, glancing at Andrew again and looking up from his feet to his hair, "I will turn it into two." She finished with a predatory smile.

"Alright, let's hear what he has to say then." She said, crossing her arms. Pam smirked at her.

"Eric wanted me to inform you that there will be no need to book a hotel for this weekend. You will be staying in his quarters with him." Pam revealed. Paige gulped and resisted the urge to look back and see how Andrew was taking that bit of information. She could only imagine what he was thinking right then. "And second, leave the human." Pam said, her eyes flicking over to Andrew again.

Paige frowned. "I'm staying with Eric?" She asked. "Why?"

"Eric didn't say but I'm sure he has his reasons." Pam retorted quickly, an impatient expression on her face. "You'll arrive at Fangtasia on Saturday at six pm sharp. Eric wanted me to express that there is no room for argument." She finished firmly.

"Fine." Paige snapped, angry with the way these particular vampires treated her. So what if Eric was powerful and Pam was his closest confidant. It didn't give them the right to act like they owned the world. "But when you tell him about Andrew, which I'm sure you will, be sure to let him know that he doesn't own me." She said before turning around to walk towards her register and start closing it down. "I have to close the store now. I'll be in Shreveport on Saturday."

When Paige turned back around the door was dinging as it was opened and closed rapidly. She sighed and watched it for a moment before slowly turning to look at Andrew.

He looked angry.

"What are you getting yourself mixed up with, Paige? Are you nuts?" He asked, stalking towards her and stopping just in front of the counter. "_Vampires_? You're going to be staying with _vampires_? And who is Eric? What's going on?" He asked rapidly, not understand what was happening with her currently.

Paige figured she might as well tell him everything now and avoid any further issues. "The vampires have certain leaders in their community called Sheriffs. Eric is one of them and he's residing in Louisiana. We met last weekend at a casino he's interested in doing business with and since he saw me talk to the manager before," Paige decided against telling Andrew she'd been to the casino more then once, "he wants me to go with him. I don't know why he wants me to stay with him but he's too powerful to try to argue my way out of it. It is what it is."

Andrew rubbed his forehead and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you Paige. I've known you for almost eight years and I always thought you were much smarter then to get involved with vampires like them." He said, pointing towards the spot Pam had just been standing in. "What if this Eric tries to kill you? What if he tries to _turn _you?" He asked, looking stressed.

Paige pulled out the drawer roughly and began counting the cash inside. Andrew's concern would normally flatter her, but for some reason it was making her angry. Who was he to throw around these accusations about Eric? Then she was even angrier with herself for even wanting to defend the powerful vampire. "If he had wanted to kill me, he had ample opportunity to do so last weekend. And I don't really have a choice in the matter, Andrew. If I don't go, Eric will come and get me. He's told me so himself numerous times."

Andrew stared at her for a long moment then sighed and turned to leave. "Hopefully, you'll wake up and realize what you're getting involved in." He called over his shoulder before abruptly leaving. Paige stared after him in shock then snorted to herself in irritation. _Men._ Guess she could count their date officially cancelled after that exchange, Paige thought.

She sighed and set down the cash, grabbing her keys to go and lock the front door so that no one else would come in. Once it was locked, she lowered the blinds on all the windows and headed back towards the counter, tossing the keys onto it carelessly and leaning on it as her mind thought back over what Pam had said.

She'd be staying with Eric. She'd be _alone _with Eric. If he was acting the same way he'd been acting the previous Saturday night, Paige didn't know if she'd be able to survive it. He would drive her crazy, both in a good way and a bad one.

--

Paige clasped her hands together tightly as she stared up at the deserted looking Fangtasia. It would be sunset soon and then she and Eric would be off to speak with the manager of DiamondJacks. She was nervous, that much was obvious enough. She'd had no idea what to pack, having gone through her clothes at least a dozen times and wanting find something that would impress Eric. Then she'd been angry with herself for wanting to impress him. Where was her _mind_ these days? He was a powerful vampire that would probably finish her off as soon as he got what he wanted from her. She should be thinking more sensibly then this.

Her date with Andrew had been cancelled. He'd sent her a text when the afternoon before the date informing her that he wouldn't take her out until she regained some of her common sense. She knew he was mad, but at the same time knew that if she were ever in trouble or if she needed somebody, he would be there at the drop of a hat in spite of everything.

Taking a deep breath, Paige situated her bag over her shoulder and stepped towards the doors, not feeling too surprised when she found that they were unlocked.

The club was much different in the daytime. It was still obviously a place for vampires to be themselves, but it didn't seem quite so…sensual. It was duller and quite…almost innocent now that it was vacated. She walked in a bit further, heading towards the bar when she spied an envelope propped up against a glass at the very edge. She grabbed the envelope first, tearing it open to read the slip of paper inside. It read for her to change into the clothes provided and look presentable, then to go to Eric's office. Paige tucked the note into her pocket then glanced at the drink, smiling to herself.

It was a Long Island Ice Tea.

She was just grabbing for it when a blonde headed woman suddenly popped her head out from under the bar. "You must be Paige." She said, taking Paige by surprise. Paige let out a shriek and jumped away, her heart beating furiously. The blonde woman laughed and moved around the bar. She was dressed skimpily and holding a large box. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She said with a smile. "I'm Ginger." She said, extending a free hand towards her.

Paige took a deep breath and smiled. "Sorry I screamed. I wasn't expecting anyone to be around. And yes, I'm Paige." She said, shaking Ginger's hand. The box was immediately shoved into her hands and she almost dropped it in surprise.

"It's from Eric. He wants to you to change into that and freshen up." Ginger said with a shrug and smile, moving back behind the bar to start cleaning up. "I don't know what you did, but you've got him all riled up." She said nonchalantly, making Paige gape at her. She was going to ask her what she meant when Ginger kept talking. "You should hurry up and get ready. He doesn't like to wait."

Paige nodded and headed towards the bathroom that Ginger directed her to. Was _everyone _in Fangtasia that short and to the point? Paige made a face as she walked into the bathroom and locked it behind her. At least Ginger had been nice.

When she opened the box she stared at the dress laying inside, pulling it out to get a better look. It was a strapless black dress with a black lacy covering that extended just a bit past the hem at the bottom. She shook her head with a small smile and quickly changed out of her jeans and t-shirt, slipping the dress on. She was not only surprised by how well it fit, but also by how nice it looked on her. The quickly changed into the black heels that had been resting in the box underneath the dress then freshened up her makeup, her pulse quickening as she heard more and more movement coming from outside the bathroom. She left her hair down, tucking one side behind her ear after fluffing it a bit, then gave herself a once over. Paige thought she looked really good and smiled to herself before tucking her clothes back into her bag and unlocking the bathroom door.

Paige glanced around as she exited the bar, watching the workers of Fangtasia prepare for another night of business. Ginger pushed the Long Island Ice Tea that had been waiting for her towards her with a wink and Paige picked it up with a small smile. She started to walk towards the same wooden door she'd gone through the previous weekend and paused when Pam stepped out, closing the door behind her. Pam spotted her at once and smirked, looking her up and down.

"Perfect timing." She said as she walked by, not bothering to stop and converse any further as she continued on her way. Paige watched her for a moment before shaking her head and walking to the door. She knocked twice and waited until she heard Eric call out for her to enter. Paige tried to push down the feelings of excitement at hearing his voice as she turned the handle and opened it slowly.

Eric didn't glance up from the papers in front of him right away but as soon as she stepped fully into the room and shut the door behind her his eyes slowly raised to meet hers. She didn't miss the way his eyes trailed over her more then once and she stepped in slowly, not sure what she was supposed to do now. "Hello." She finally said as she set her bag on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Eric leaned back in his chair, setting his papers to the side, and smirked up at her. "The dress suits you." He said simply.

She could say the same for his attire. He was wearing a black button up shirt underneath a black dinner jacket and with black slacks. He looked professional and presentable and Paige forgot what her name was for a moment. "I like the suit." She finally said, hoping the words had come out correctly in her dazed state.

Eric stood, ignoring her compliment, and he studied her for a long moment before walking around the desk to grab her bag from the chair and walk through a doorway to the left. She watched him curiously, assuming that was the room she would be staying in, and felt a jolt of nervousness shout through her when she spied only one bed. Her drink suddenly looked very good and she finished half of it in one quick second.

"I wouldn't enjoy that too much. We do have a meeting to attend to in twenty minutes." Eric said upon returning. Paige nodded and set her drink down, opting not to finish it and instead walking around the office to actually take in some of the surroundings.

Most of the decorations around her were typical things you'd see in a bar or a club, and she wasn't too surprised to see that he didn't have many personal effects in the office with him. "So…why am I staying here tonight?" She asked, turning around to face him. She jumped a bit to see that he was just a foot or so away from her.

Eric smirked then shrugged. "It is easier. And free." Paige doubted it would be free but pushed the thought aside as he glanced at the clock then held a hand out to her. "Come." He said.

Paige stared at his hand like she'd never seen one before then slowly set her hand in his, admiring how perfectly her hand fit in his. Eric also stared down at their joined hands for a moment before turning to lead her back out of the office. She was surprised to see that the club was already starting to fill up considering it was so early. Perhaps coming here was all some vampires did. As a few vampires leered at her, she understood why Eric had grabbed her hand to lead her through the crowd.

"Thanks." She mumbled to him. He glanced down at her and nodded once.

Eric seemed different tonight. He was reserved, not quite as arrogant. Paige didn't know why, but she definitely wanted to find out. He said something to Pam quickly as they passed her on their way out then led her out of a side door. Directly outside was a fancy looking car that immediately had Paige weak in the knees.

"Get in." He said gruffly, not bothering to lead her around to her side of the car as he finally released her hand. Paige stared at him for a moment then nodded, doing as he said. There was definitely something bothering him and she was sure she'd find out soon.

--

Their meeting went fine. Eric had dropped his standoff-ish demeanor and kept a hand on her the entire meeting, being a bit more open with the casino manager. The manager had been surprisingly much more open to Eric's proposal once seeing him with Paige. She supposed he'd figured that if he was arriving with a human and spending time with her, then he must not be too savage of a vampire. But if Eric had been pleased, he hadn't showed it. They'd stayed at the casino for over two hours, getting to know the manager and gambling a bit, Paige careful not to get too carried away, and he had still seemed as though he were holding back his true emotions. Even now as they drove back to Fangtasia he seemed emotionless as ever, his eyes on the road as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. Paige glanced over at him and sighed, finally deciding to speak up.

"What's wrong with you, Eric?" She finally asked him, catching him a bit off guard as he looked over at her with raised eyebrows. "You seem…unhappy."

Eric turned his eyes back to the road, his grip on the steering wheel tightening further to the point where she was almost afraid that he would break it. "I _am_ unhappy." He finally said monotonous. Paige was about to ask him why but he beat her to the punch. "Who is Andrew?"

Paige should have known. "No one. He's a friend." She said truthfully.

"Then why was he calling on you so late?" He asked, his eyes never turning back towards her. He seemed like he was trying not to lose his temper at that particular moment.

"I've known him for eight years, Eric." Paige explained gently, not sure how she felt about his open jealousy. She officially had no idea what it was that Eric wanted from her and it was beginning to confuse her. And generally when she became confused, she became irritated. "He came to ask me on a date," She said, ignoring the dangerous look that crossed his features, "but it never happened."

Eric looked less perturbed as they pulled back up to Fangtasia but Paige rolled her eyes, not sure she was able to believe him. How could he use her to get ahead in his business conquests, never mentioning anything about a personal relationship, and then get angry with her for having a potential date with an old friend? It wasn't fair to her that he would string her along like that. Suddenly, she wasn't looking forward to staying with him that night one bit.

As soon as the car came to a stop, she jumped out and slammed the door shut, stalking up to the side door they'd gone through. Of course the door was locked and she sighed in frustration, glancing back to see that Eric was walking up to her leisurely. He unlocked the door and opened it for her, Paige immediately pushing in and heading towards his office. He didn't guide her through the crowd again but she could feel his presence behind her. The entire way to the office she was going over what she was going to say to him, fully intending on giving him an earful for being irrational and irritating.

She pushed into the office, Eric catching the door and opening it back up when she tried to slam the door on him, and he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Is there a problem, Ms. Collins?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes, there is." She said, putting her hands on her hips and facing him with an angry look. "You're not allowed to just string me along. Obviously you know _exactly _what you do to me and you're using that to your advantage to use me and get ahead with all your little business endeavors." Paige said angrily, moving closer to him slowly. "And that isn't fair. Not one bit. You have no right to be mad or jealous when I speak to other men when you haven't made any of your other intentions for me clear."

Eric grabbed her by her shoulder as soon as she was in his reach and pulled her close, their noses almost touching as he leaned down to peer directly into her eyes. She couldn't tell what his expression meant, but it was a dangerous one regardless. "_No one_…talks to me like that." He said, sounding angry yet amused at the same time.

Paige glanced down at his lips then back up into his eyes. He was too tempting, especially being this close to him and seeing the storm of emotions in his beautiful eyes. She knew she was probably going to regret her next move, but she knew it would clear up everything as soon as she did it.

Paige wrapped her fingers into his hair and kissed Eric before he knew what she was planning.

Eric froze in surprise as she pressed closer to him, her arm sliding around his neck. Then he tore his lips from hers, breathing a tick harder and when she opened her eyes again she saw that his fangs had appeared. His lips had felt like heaven and every nerve in her body was on fire from the short kiss. Eric's eyes were a bit wider and she actually saw him take a steadying breath before he moved one hand to tangle into her hair, tilting her head back further. He smirked at her before lowering his lips to hers again, pressing his lips against her demandingly.

It was strange kissing him with his fangs pressing into the delicate skin of her lips, but they were both careful to move so that he wouldn't cut her lip. Paige wrapped her free arm around his neck to join her other arm as she felt Eric stretch to full height, his hands on her hips as her feet left the ground. Eric didn't seem in a hurry to pull away from the kiss but the need for air was quickly becoming a problem and she pulled away gently.

"You are very bold." Eric said, his eyes closed as she watched his tongue snake out to swipe over his bottom lip. When he opened his eyes, the desire was impossible to miss. It excited her. "I like it." He said, smiling the first genuine smile she'd ever seen him smile. His handsomeness increased tenfold and she her heart skipped a few beats at the sight.

Paige returned it and then let him set her back on the ground even if he didn't let her move away from him. "Someone had to make the move. Life is too short to beat around the bush." Eric looked disturbed for a moment and she shook her head. "Delete that statement."

Eric nodded once, his lips finding hers again, only to growl in irritation when the office door opened and Pam waltzed in, a surprised look on her face as she spotted them.

"Oh, forgive me Eric." Pam said slowly, her eyes looking back and forth between them.

"What is it, Pam?" He asked irritably, not moving an inch away from Paige. Paige herself was blushing bright red at being caught, especially by Pam. She would never hear the end of it.

"We have a bit of a problem." Pam said, motioning to the club outside the door. "A human has been attacked and one of the human's friends called the police. They should be on their way soon." She explained with a sour expression on her face.

Eric sighed and nodded, looking back down at her. "I have to take care of this." He said before tugging a strand of her hair with a small smile. "Thank you for helping me with DiamondJacks." He said quietly. Pam took that moment to quickly exit and shut the door behind her, not wanting to intrude on the moment between them any further.

"You're welcome." Paige said before gently moving away from him. "Go take care of business." She said with a small smile.

"You look tired. Will you be awake when I return?" Eric asked, moving a step towards her again. Paige wasn't used to this side of him at all and was even more surprised at how quickly he'd shown it to her. She liked the more affectionate and caring side of him though. It was something she could definitely get used to.

"Maybe. I haven't gotten much sleep this past week." She admitted with a small laugh as she smoothed out the wrinkles in his jacket. Eric took a deep breath, his eyes closing for a moment, and then nodded.

"Rest." He urged before kissing her forehead, his fangs finally hidden again. Paige nodded and watched him turn to leave, Eric tossing her a smirk over his shoulder before exiting, and then she headed towards his bedroom.

It didn't take her long to fall asleep in his bed once she was in comfortable clothing and settled in. It was an extremely comfortable place to sleep and it smelled just like him. She was instantly soothed and relaxed. At some point, she wasn't sure when, she felt the bed dip with his arrival. She didn't wake fully, just enough to be aware of his arm wrapping around her waist tightly and pulling her back against him, his lips grazing her neck quickly. Paige sighed and settled into him further, resting her arm on top of his and feeling even more soothed by the coolness of his skin.

The last thought that crossed her mind was how she didn't know where their relationship would go from there, but whatever happened, she'd welcome it with open arms.

--

**A/N: Review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hahaha. Eric and Paige get together and the world rejoices! How funny. I love it!**

**Anyway…Eric's hot. Just in case you didn't know…**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

_Present day…_

Seeing Eric again made every old feeling she'd tried to push away come rushing back like a ton of bricks smashing into her abdomen. He looked handsome as ever and as she remembered the way they used to be, her heart began to throb painfully at the knowledge that he was no longer hers. His eyes quickly went from shocked to glaring and she had to turn her eyes away and look at something else, _anything _else. The accusation in his stare cut right down to her heart.

The blonde girl to her left was looking back and forth between her and Eric quickly, confusion and disbelief written on her face, and Paige had to wonder if she already knew about them. If she'd come with Eric, perhaps they were friends. Maybe he'd told her about their past. Though she didn't think that very likely.

What if they were lovers? Paige closed her mind to the torrent of emotions that one question brought up.

"Ms. Collins, Mr. Newman." Isabel greeted smoothly, stepping forward slowly. "We've been expecting you. We hope that you don't mind that our meeting isn't quite as private as you might have hoped."

Gary shook his head with a small smile, resting his hand on Paige's shoulder as he chanced a quick look in Eric's direction. Paige did too and saw that Eric was glaring at Gary's hand before glowering at Gary himself. "Of course not. I assume we're all here on common purpose so it's no problem for us that we have a few extras loitering around." He said with a shrug, feeling the tension in the room and trying to ease it. "I'm Gary Newman." He said, extending his hand to the closest person. It was the dark headed vampire standing next to the blonde headed girl.

He exchanged a look with her before shaking Gary's hand. "Bill Compton. And this is Sookie Stackhouse." He added, motioning to the blonde girl. She smiled and immediately pushed forward, shaking Gary's hand enthusiastically before turning towards Paige.

"Hi. I'm Sookie." She introduced herself again, reaching for Paige's hand.

"Paige Collins." She finally managed to say, trying hard to avoid Eric's unwavering gaze. But her eyes widened when he moved forward slowly and extended a hand, a cruel smile on his lips when she stared at it hesitantly. What was he playing at?

"Eric Northman." He said slowly, waiting for her to make a move. "I'm sure you've heard of me." He added as she finally grasped his hand in a quick shake. She released it quickly as though she'd been burned and Gary, noticing her discomfort, gave her a small encouraging smile. Eric glared at him for such a quick moment that Paige only saw it because of the time she'd spent with him.

"Yes, I have." She said, trying to keep up the charade he was presenting. Her mind was racing with memories she'd tried hard to push to the back of her mind for a long time now. Gary saved her from dwelling on them too much more by stepping forward to introduce himself. When Eric and Gary shook hands, Gary grimaced a bit, nursing his hand for a moment when Eric released him.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted, let's get down to business." Stan said, moving towards the couch to sit and get comfortable. "What would drive two leaders of the C.A.V.D. to call a meeting with us in such times?" He asked, cutting right to the point. He looked almost suspicious, though Paige had no idea why.

Bill looked confused while Eric's eyes flashed over to hers quickly in smug disbelief. "C.A.V.D.?" They both asked. Bill sounded as though he had never heard of it; Eric sounded as though he were appalled she was apart of it.

"Citizens Against Vampire Discrimination." Gary explained to Bill with a proud grin. "Perhaps not the best name, but 'Awesome Humans Fighting Against the Morons Who Try To Kill Vampires' was a bit too long." He said with a laugh. Sookie laughed as well and Paige couldn't help but crack a grin up at her friend for his ability to make any situation light.

"Isabel…" Eric interrupted sharply, killing the humor out of the situation at once as everyone looked over at him. "I assume that you called Bill, Sookie, and me back into this meeting for a reason. Get to it." He said, crossing his arms and scowling deeply. Then he looked back at Gary and Paige. "Why are you both here?"

"Yes." Isabel said with a wave of her hand, looking a bit amused at the way Eric was acting. "Please continue." She urged.

"We know that your Sheriff has been kidnapped." Paige started to explain, ignoring the way Eric's scowl deepened even more as soon as she began to speak. She wasn't the least bit surprised; she had known that if they'd ever crossed paths again, Eric would _not _have welcomed her with open arms. "We also know who has him. And we know that you'll need a bit of help if you want to get him back without causing a war."

"What if war is what we're looking for?" Stan questioned her, tilting his head to the side as he took off his cowboy hat and set it on the couch next to him.

Gary looked at him a bit disbelievingly. "You want to send the entire country, maybe even the _world¸ _into war with each other simply because you're too proud to receive help from us simple mortals?" He shot back, standing his ground. Stan didn't say anything, simply narrowed his eyes a bit, but Paige knew that wouldn't scare Gary. Gary was tall and muscular and could defend himself, even against vampires if need be. He wasn't easily threatened.

"Stan and I discussed possible reasons as to why this meeting was called." Isabel said quickly, drawing the attention back to her. "And we have a strong feeling that we know why you're here. You should know that we already have that plan under way." She said before nodding towards Sookie.

Paige and Gary shared a look before they both glanced over at Sookie. "You're going to send Sookie into the Fellowship _alone_?" Paige asked with wide eyes, looking to anyone for answers. Well, anyone except Eric.

"So it _is _the Fellowship that has Godric?" Bill asked, a serious expression on his face as he took in the information they were providing.

"Yes." Gary answered.

"How do you know this?" Stan asked them, not looking convinced.

"We have our sources." Paige reaffirmed to him, not wanting to tell them too much. If anything ever went sour between the C.A.V.D. and the vampires, that specific information could end up being a liability. "Now, for the second time, you're sending her in alone?" She asked again.

"Of course not." Sookie said with a small smile, moving a step or two closer. "I'll be going in with another person and we'll disguise ourselves as an engaged couple looking to join the church."

Gary and Paige shared another look. "Then what? You'll charm Godric his way out of the church?" Paige asked, seeing the huge flaw in this plan. "You two alone are not going to be able to take on an entire, blood-thirsty group of vampire-hating psychos." She said firmly.

Sookie shook her head quickly. "No, no, no. We're not trying to take on the entire Fellowship by ourselves. We're simply going to go in and find out where they're keeping him. Then we'll leave." She said with a nod, sounding happy with the plan. Paige had the feeling there was more to Sookie then she thought, but decided to question her on it later.

"It might not be that easy." Bill reminded her, a solemn expression on his face.

Paige took that opportunity to sneak a glance over at Eric. Just as she suspected, he was staring at her with a hard expression, not looking very pleased that she was currently in the same room with him. She gulped, turning her eyes away again, and took a deep breath. She knew he was still watching her and it was making her nervous, very nervous. What would she say to him if they actually had a moment alone? Would she ask him how he had been? What he had been up to? Tell him she was sorry? She didn't think any topic of conversation with him would end up nicely at this point.

"What do you propose then?" Isabel asked after a moment, looking to Gary and Paige for answers. Paige pushed her thoughts of Eric aside and concentrated on the problem currently at hand.

"Gary and I have a team waiting to back us up should you approve this plan. Sookie and whoever else you're sending her in with will go in, put up their charade, and keep the Fellowship leaders distracted while also getting any information on Godric that they can. In the mean time, we can set up posts around the church until night time; make sure nothing happens to Sookie and the other person and that nothing goes awry. Then we'll go in and get Godric." Paige explained quickly.

Stan gave a very un-vampire like snort and stood from the couch in a swift movement. Paige saw Eric move forward a few steps out of the corner of her eye and when she looked at him, his eyes were trained on Stan and his fists were clenched at his sides. At once, Paige knew this to be the start of his defensive position. Stan didn't spare him a glance as he moved closer to Paige.

"What makes you think that we can't go in there and get Godric ourselves?" He asked menacingly. "Now that we are certain they have him, who is to say we won't go in tonight and get the job done quicker and more efficient then you?"

"Because, you imbecile, they're trying to avoid causing a rift between our two species." Eric growled. He wasn't but a handful of feet away from them and Paige felt her heart thud wildly. Had he moved to protect her or did he simply dislike Stan that much? "War between us is the last thing we need right now. Godric would want things to remain peaceful."

Stan snorted again. "And what if the Fellowship find out about Sookie and Hugo? What if they find out about this militia group outside of their church? What if they attack?"

"Then we'll fight back." Gary interjected quickly. "It wouldn't be the first time we've had to and it won't look as messy if its humans fighting each other." He said with a firm nod.

"_She _will lead this little group in to fight the entire church if need be?" Eric asked skeptically, crossing his arms over his chest. He was watching her again but there was a different emotion lurking underneath the hard exterior he was presenting. Paige thought she knew what it was but didn't want to read into it any further.

"I won't be alone." She reminded him quickly. "Gary and I will lead them together." Eric glared at Gary again and Paige resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "We're a good team. We can take care of it."

Stan looked as though he were going to speak again but Isabel cut him off, moving toward him to a clamp a hand around his wrist. "I like the plan." She said with the tiniest of smiles. Stan growled and shook his head, stalking back over to the couch to snatch up his hat roughly. "Stan, you know they are right. If we go in and try to claim Godric back, we will be met with resistance. This is the easiest way." Stan said nothing, simply left the room. Everyone watched him go until the door to the hotel opened and slammed shut. "He will admit it to himself in time." Isabel said with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"I like the plan, too." Sookie piped up with a small shrug. "It's dangerous for us to go in there and knowing we have a little extra protection makes me feel safer, which will make finding out where Godric is much easier.

Bill nodded as well then turned to look at Eric. "Eric?" He asked, wanting to know what the blonde vampire was thinking. Paige and Gary also turned to look at him and he looked as though he were trying to find the right words to say.

"I'm not fond of it, but if it needs to be done then so be it." He said emotionlessly before uncrossing his arms to smooth out his jacket. "If you'll excuse me." Eric then said before leaving quickly. Paige watched the spot he'd previously been occupying for a long moment before Isabel finally snapped her back to attention.

"When will your team be ready to go?" Isabel asked. Sookie was staring at her curiously again and Paige was really beginning to wonder just what was going on with the girl.

"The day after tomorrow." Gary said with a nod. "We already have some maps and layouts of the church, we just need to make sure we have all the supplies necessary and that we're all _well _versed on what the plan is."

Isabel nodded then said something quickly about needing to go and catch her business associate before he got too far away before exiting the hotel room quickly. Gary and Paige were then left with just Bill and Sookie, a slightly awkward tension settling over the quartet. Sookie was the first to speak.

"So…you and Gary are a…couple?" She asked conversationally.

Paige couldn't help the snort that escaped her as Gary laughed and shook his head. "No, no. We're just good friends and business partners. We joined the C.A.V.D. around the same time and were brought together by common…history." Paige explained with a smile, both Bill and Sookie nodding as they listened. Paige tilted her head a bit as she gazed at Sookie. "But something tells me you might already know a bit about my history…"

Sookie laughed and shrugged at her. "It's a gift." She said.

"What exactly is this gift?" Gary asked curiously.

Sookie shared a look with Bill who nodded at her in encouragement. "I can read minds. I've been able to do so ever since I was a child." She said a bit timidly, looking more guarded as she revealed this personal information. "I can't read the minds of vampires, though." She said before smiling at Bill.

"Oh…" Paige said, the puzzle pieces fitting together quickly as she looked back and forth between Bill and Sookie. She wanted to jump for joy at realizing that Sookie was _not _Eric's lover. "So you two…?" Both Bill and Sookie nodded and Paige smiled. "Cool." She said before laughing. Gary rolled his eyes and peered down at the watch on his wrist.

"We should contact the team so they can start getting ready." Gary told her with a nudge. Paige nodded with a shrug before Gary saluted Bill and Sookie. "Sorry to cut the bonding short since we'll be working together for the next few days but we have a lot to get done."

"No worries." Sookie said with a grin.

When they all made their way for the exit though, Sookie gently grabbed Paige's arm and pulled her to a stop as Gary continued on. "Does he need your help and can you spare a few moments with me down at the bar area?" She asked. "You know, for a little girl talk?"

Paige glanced at Gary then smiled at Sookie. "Not tonight." She said with a regretful nod. "Gary and I have a lot of planning to do. But we can meet for breakfast in the morning?" She offered. Sookie nodded in acceptance then let Bill pull her off towards a different set of elevators. Paige felt her eyes on her back as she walked to catch up with Gary and sighed, casting a quick look over her shoulder before entering the small silver box Gary was in.

"She knows." Paige said, running a hand through her hair nervously.

"About…?" Gary asked, not sure what she was talking about.

"Eric." Paige said in exasperation. "She knew as soon as I walked into the room. But I'm not surprised; my mind was racing the entire time."

Gary nodded then smirked down at her. "He didn't seem pleased to see me with you." Paige shot him a disbelieving look as the elevator dinged, signaling the arrival of their floor, and stalked out of the elevator. Gary was hot on her heels and rested his hands on her shoulders as he walked behind her, giving them an encouraging squeeze. "I didn't mean to make you mad, P-Col." He said as they reached their hotel room. "I'm just calling it like I see it."

Paige unlocked the hotel room with her key and nodded as they walked in, Gary shutting the door behind him. "I know, I know. But I seriously doubt he cares anymore." She said slowly.

Gary frowned and watched her pace around the room. "What about you? What are you feeling towards him right now?"

Paige sighed and flopped onto the couch. She had no idea how she felt about seeing him because she couldn't pinpoint just one emotion. Part of her was delighted that she was connected to him in some way again while the other was terrified to even be in the same room with him. It had been so long since the last time they'd spoken and she hadn't left on good terms by any means. There was so much that she felt needed to be cleared up between them, so much that needed to be discussed. But she didn't know if she could do it…or if Eric would even let her try.

"I don't know how I feel." She finally said. Then she glanced over at him. "How would you feel if Christine came back into your life?" She questioned him quietly.

Gary had once dated a vampire named Christine. He'd begun dating her long before the vampires had revealed themselves to the world and their relationship had last for over three years. He'd said that he had never loved anybody as much as he'd loved her. Yet right before he'd joined the C.A.V.D. their relationship had fallen apart. Gary had never really told her why but she knew that it still tore him up to think about it. Currently, he was frowning deeply and looking anywhere but at her.

"I guess I wouldn't know how to feel either." He murmured before scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I need to call headquarters, let them know the vamps are in on our plan. Then I'm going to call the rest of the team." He said with a small smile, trying to cover up the sudden change in his mood, before going into the other room.

Paige watched him go then found her thoughts turning back to Eric. She wondered which room he was staying in and if he was nearby. She wanted desperately to go to him, to explain everything to him. She felt he deserved at least that much. Paige stayed rooted firmly to the couch though. She knew he would never want to hear what she had to say, that he would shun her as soon as he saw her. She'd wronged him and he wasn't usually a very forgiving person.

Suddenly, time at the bar seemed very appealing to her. Glancing at her watch, she knew that Sookie would still be awake. Perhaps a little girl talk would be exactly what she needed; after all, Paige didn't really have that luxury anymore. She needed to talk to someone new about her situation with Eric and Sookie seemed like the perfect person for it.

Paige grabbed for the hotel phone and was about to dial for the front desk when a knock sounded on her door. She froze, her mind suddenly racing, and gulped as she set the phone back into her holder. What if it was Eric and he _did _want to talk? It was still early and he would be up for a long time to come. She stood from the couch slowly, walking towards the door and staring at it like it would burst into flame at any moment.

Once she was in front of the door, she listened out for who it could be. Another knock sounded right by her head, making her jump. Paige decided to stop being stupid and just open the door. With a resilient jut of her chin into the air, she grabbed the door and turned the handle, whipping it open quickly before she changed her mind.

--

**A/N: Eh, I didn't want to leave the chapter there but with the way I'm doing the story, I couldn't really continue. Review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm absolutely DELIGHTED with the reception this story has gotten. I'm so happy that you're all enjoying it and I'm glad it's easy to follow. I was afraid it would get to confusing to keep up with. I'm glad it's not! **

**Tell all your friends about the story! Get the word out! Haha. And keep on reading! Woo!**

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**Enjoy!**

**--**

_Two years ago…_

It had to be daylight outside, but Paige honestly had no idea. The room was pitch black and she could barely see the hand that she was holding in front of her face as she tried to make her eyes adjust to the room. She had no idea what time it was, but judging by the heaviness of the arm draped around her waist, Eric was still fast asleep. She tried to maneuver from under his arm to find her phone and check the time, but he only tightened his grip further.

After a few moments, she gave up and turned towards the area of the bed he was occupying. She couldn't see him but she slowly moved her hand over his arm until she reached his neck. She encountered some of his silky hair and smiled to herself, wondering how he would react to the fingers currently tangling themselves into his hair if he were awake. She just couldn't seem to help herself.

Without any warning or hint that the vampire next to her had woken during her explorations, a pair of lips closed over hers catching her completely off guard. He deepened the kiss when she gasped in surprise and she found herself pressing closer to him, her suddenly burning body eager to feel the coolness of his skin. It wasn't long before she could feel his fangs pressing against her lips and she fought back a smile of delight in the reaction she was bringing from him.

He pulled his lips from hers a moment later. "To what do I owe the pleasure of being awoken so early?" Eric asked in the darkness. Paige felt his fingertips run the length of her spine and she shivered in delight.

"I have to leave soon, but I couldn't get your arm off of me." Paige said breathlessly with a smile, knowing he could see her. He made a sound of thoughtfulness and Paige sighed when his lips closed over her throat. She could feel his sharp fangs pressing against her skin and she froze, making him tense in turn.

"Do my fangs frighten you?" Eric inquired curiously, his lips rising from her neck to brush ever so lightly against her lips. Paige shook her head slowly with a gulp, searching blindly for his mouth with her hand. His strong hand grasped hers to help her and soon her thumb was sliding over his lips, the feel of his sharp fangs unnerving her only slightly.

"No." She said gently. "I just want you to remember that just because things have changed between us, that doesn't mean you're allowed to bite me."

Eric was silent for a long moment as she felt him frown and she was suddenly afraid that she had upset him or said the wrong thing. Perhaps he was only acting on urges impossible for him to ignore and after this weekend she would never see him again. Perhaps nothing had changed at all. Paige knew she was becoming emotionally invested in him and her heart throbbed hard at the thought of not seeing him again.

"Very well. If that's what you want." Eric finally said as his fingertips traced her jaw.

Paige grinned and felt him smile against her fingers. She wished suddenly that she could see it, if only for a moment, but didn't know if he had a light in the room to turn on. Her wish was granted when a dim light clicked on just above the bed. Immediately her breath caught in her throat.

Eric was propped up on one elbow and the tank top he was wearing proudly displayed his muscled torso. His hair was hanging around his face and he was offering a small half smile, half smirk and she slowly moved the hand that had been touching his lips to trace his features. Eric's eyes were watching her intently and he leaned down to kiss her slowly.

"You should be leaving soon if you want to get back to Houston at a reasonable hour." He said. "And I need to rest more. Every night here is a busy night and I am not a joy to be around when sleep deprived." He finished, his tongue snaking out to trace her bottom lip. Paige didn't want to leave him, especially not when she felt his hand snake under her shirt to glide his fingers over her stomach.

He let her up though and Paige hopped out of the bed before she changed her mind. He watched her as she moved about the room, collecting things she needed to get ready to leave, and she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. He was certainly very good at making her lose her train of thought, as she had to go through her clothes multiple times to pick out what she wanted, forgetting what she was looking for more then once. She changed in the bathroom that was off to the side and freshened up before going back into the bedroom to throw the rest of her things in her bag. Eric hadn't moved from his spot and she walked over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Eric reached out to her at once, his hand splaying over her back and pulling her closer until she was practically lying on his chest. "When will you come to Shreveport next?" He asked.

"When would you like me to come back?" Paige shot back. Eric smirked but didn't answer her. "Maybe next weekend…we'll have to see. I might be working." She said, picking at the cotton of his tank top.

Eric nodded, though he didn't look too pleased, then kissed her once more before releasing her. "Goodbye, Paige." He said as she stood to gather her things. When she turned around, her bag hanging over her shoulder, he was in front of her. She didn't jump in surprise like she thought she might have, simply smiled at him until he leaned down and gave her a firm kiss. When she went to pull away, his fingers dug into her hair, keeping her in place as he deepened the kiss. Paige wrapped both of her arms around his neck, falling into him and letting him manipulate her whichever way he wanted.

When he released her, she stumbled away on shaky legs, her chest rising and falling rapidly as he started at her intensely, his fangs glimmering in the dim light of the room. "Goodbye, Eric." She finally said before turning and hightailing it out of the room.

Lord. He was going to be the death of her if he kept at it like that. The desire he felt for her was obvious enough and it sent butterflies flapping wildly around in her stomach. She wanted him too, that was for sure, but she didn't know if she was ready to take that step. Sure, she was twenty two, but she'd never taken that step with _anyone_. She'd wanted to wait until she found someone special, but when that special someone had never really come along she'd decided that she'd waited too long to just throw it away on any old person. The thing that scared her the most was that she wantedto give herself to Eric so quickly. He hadn't even proven himself to her yet.

Paige laid a hand on the door that Eric was behind, a small window in the corner lighting the room gently, and she sighed before turning to leave. She'd find a reason to come to Shreveport the next weekend no matter what. There was no way she'd be able to go longer then a week without seeing him. She would go crazy.

--

Paige smiled to herself that next Tuesday night as she slipped on some comfortable clothes, cooked up a bowl of popcorn, and sat down on her couch to catch up on her favorite show. Today had been her day off and she'd spent the day shopping around for things for her townhouse as well as picking up some new clothes. Now she was ready to relax.

As soon as she went to her DVR and went to search for her show, her cell phone began to ring. She sighed and paused in her search to go and answer, cringing when she saw that it was Jamie calling her. "Hey, Jamie." She said, trying to sound chipper when she answered the call.

"Hey! Where were you this weekend? All the girls went out and I thought you were going to be there." She said, sounding chipper.

Paige cringed again and bit her lip, deciding not to lie to her friend. She'd just see right through it anyway. "Yeah, Anna actually called me to tell me that but I already had plans to go out of town. Sorry, hope I didn't miss to good of a party! Who all went?" She asked, trying to distract Jamie from what she was actually telling her.

"Oh you know, the usual suspects." Jamie answered nonchalantly. "Where did you have to go out of town to?"

Paige sighed and prepared herself for the onslaught of anger she was about to face from her long time friend. "Shreveport…"

"You actually went back there again?" Jamie asked incredulously, sounding highly disappointed. So what if Paige had neglected to tell her friends that Eric had requested she come back the weekend after their stay in Louisiana for Hillary's party? She had known that none of them would take it lightly and would be constantly pressing their worries on her, just like Jamie currently was. "Are you _crazy_? Did you go alone?"

"Yes, I went alone. And I'm _not _crazy because I was perfectly safe." She defended quickly. "Eric wanted me to come back so I could help talk to the casino manager at DiamondJacks, alright? I helped him out, stayed the night, and left the next morning. It was no big deal." She explained irritably, excluding to divulge what had transpired between her and Eric.

"I'm shocked with you right now. Why are you helping him?" Jamie asked. She paused for a long moment then gasped over the line. "You _like _him, don't you?" She hissed at her over the phone.

Paige was saved from answering the question when her doorbell rang. She frowned at the door in confusion because she hadn't been expecting anyone, but it would be a welcome distraction if it meant getting off the phone with Jamie. "I'd love to discuss this more but someone just rang my doorbell. I have to go."

"Don't think this is the end of this conversation. We _will _be discussing this again at work tomorrow." Jamie said firmly before hanging up without saying goodbye. Paige stared at her phone for a moment, rolling her eyes at the way her friend was acting, before tossing it off to the side to go an answer the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She called out impatiently as three firm knocks sounding against the dark wood of her door. She unlocked it quickly then pulled it open, looking at the person on the other side in surprise. "Andrew? Hey." She said, leaning against the doorframe as he waved awkwardly in greeting. "What are you doing here this late?"

"I was having dinner with some friends nearby and I thought I'd stop in to check up on you." He said with a shrug, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked over her quickly. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that he was inspecting her, especially since his eyes lingered on her neck more then one.

"So really you just came to check and make sure that I'm still alive and that I haven't been bitten?" Paige demanded angrily.

Andrew looked relieved. "So you _haven't _been bitten?" He asked.

Paige scoffed at him. "Not that it's really any of your business in any way, shape, or form, but _no_. I have not been bitten." She stressed. "I can't believe the nerve of some people!" She said, flabbergasted at both Andrew's worries and Jamie's anger, before going to shut the door. Andrew put a hand against it though and held it open, a helpless look on his face. She knew that look. He'd used it on her in the past whenever she was mad at him. "Andrew…"

"Just wait, alright?" He pleaded. "Really, I came to apologize more then anything." He said, waiting for her to do something. When she didn't he sighed and moved closer. "Can I at least come in instead of us arguing on your doorstep?" He asked, motioning to the tightly compacted townhouses around hers. Paige sighed then nodded, stepping aside for him to come in.

"You don't have to apologize. I suppose you're just…concerned." Paige said, trying to get the conversation rolling after he paused for a long awkward moment.

"I am. I'm very concerned." Andrew said truthfully, crossing his arms. "How do you know that you can trust this vampire?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Paige sighed and shrugged at him. "I honestly don't know him that well, but he's had ample opportunity to do something and he hasn't." She said lamely. "Eric is a powerful vampire in his world but with me…I think he's a bit different. He's already told me that he won't bite me because I asked him not to."

Andrew's eyebrows shot up. "And you believe that?"

"Yes." She answered at once.

"And what do you expect to get out of hanging around this guy? Do you want to be his play thing? Do you want to be a _vampire_?" He asked in a stressed tone. "You have to realize something Paige; it won't work out between the two of you." Paige frowned and Andrew waited for her to say something. When she didn't, he continued. "He's a vampire. You're a human. You're going to grow old while he will never change. He's here to stay while _you _are temporary."

Paige shook her head, not liking the things that he was saying even if they were true. "I realize I'm going to grow old and it's not like Eric and I are talking about staying together forever. And _no_, I don't want to be a vampire, alright?" She said quickly. "I don't even know what Eric and I are yet, so why don't you let me figure that out first?"

"He'll become bored with you after you aren't so young and beautiful anymore, you do know that, right?" Andrew asked harshly.

Paige opened her mouth to say something when a loud, firm knock sounded only once on her door. She stared at in disbelief, wondering who it could possibly be this time around…maybe Jamie had called the rest of her friends and they were _all _coming to scold her. Andrew rolled his eyes and leaned against her couch, motioning for her to grab the door. She turned to do so, shooting him a nasty look, before yanking the door open.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Eric…" She said in surprise.

He wasn't looking at her though. He was glaring at Andrew, his fists clenched at his sides and his teeth grinding together angrily. She wondered just how long he'd been outside of her house and wondered what all he had heard. "Paige…you have to invite me in for me to be able to enter." He said, not sparing her a glance. Paige looked back at Andrew and saw that he was on alert, his wide eyes taking in the massive vampire at her doorway.

Paige looked back up at Eric and slowly reached out to touch his forearm gently. "I'm not going to let you in if you're going to hurt Andrew." She said firmly. That drew his attention back to her and he smirked evilly.

"I have no intentions of hurting him…I move much too quickly for it to hurt." Eric said, sending another threatening glare in Andrew's direction. When Paige shook her head, Eric frowned. "Do you choose him over me?" He asked, his eyes staring intently into hers.

Paige shook her head. "Of course not." She said before stepping outside and motioning Andrew to stay right where he was as she closed the door behind her. Eric looked tense. "But Andrew is my friend and I can't let you kill him." She said quietly, grabbing for Eric's hand. Eric looked down at their hands for a moment curiously before peering back into her eyes.

"He's filling your head with lies, Paige. And I don't like it. I don't like the human being in your house, either." Eric practically growled, shooting an angry look at the closed door. "Make him leave before I do."

Paige knew that there was going to be no arguing with Eric on this matter and finally nodded at him, opening the door again. "Come in, Eric." She said as she walked through. Eric walked in right behind her and lingered just inside the doorway as she walked up to Andrew. "You should leave." She said quietly to him.

"And leave you here with him like this?" Andrew asked, his wide eyes taking in Eric's angry glare and large frame. He looked very nervous and she guessed he hadn't been expecting Eric to look so intimidating.

"It's not _me _he's mad at. You better go while you still can." Paige stressed. Andrew nodded slowly and walked towards the door keeping a close eye on Eric.

Once he was standing right next Eric, the vampire quickly reached out and made a grab for Andrew. He had Andrew pinned to the wall in the blink of an eye and Paige gaped at him in surprise. Eric didn't have a threatening hold on him though, simply an arm pressed against Andrew's chest as he glared down at him furiously. "You better think twice about what you say to her next time, human. I may not be so easy to calm again." He said before releasing Andrew and shoving him out the door. He turned back to Paige and quirked an eyebrow at her, daring her to say something.

"Very nice." She said sarcastically before moving towards him as he smirked. "I didn't expect you to show up here…ever." She said, plucking at the worn leathern jacket he was wearing. "You need a new jacket…" She commented idly.

"I didn't want to wait until the weekend." Eric said with a slight shrug. "I left Pam in charge for the night so I could come and visit…I wasn't expecting you to have other visitors." He said, glaring at the door again.

"I wasn't expecting other visitors, either. It seems all my friends are on the same wave length tonight, though." Paige said. She turned to go into the kitchen and Eric moved into the house a little more, depositing himself gracefully on her couch. "I don't have any TruBlood, I'll have to pick some up if you'll be doing this more often." She called from the kitchen.

"That won't be necessary. I've never been very fond of it." Eric said when she came back into the room with a coke in her hand. He looked a bit disturbed by something and as soon as she sat down next to him, he angled his body towards hers a bit more. "Did the human's words bother you?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for answers.

Paige took a long drink from her coke then nodded. "Yes…"

Eric nodded. "They trouble me as well." He admitted, though he looked hesitant to do so. "He was correct in one aspect; you are growing older." Eric said gently. "But he was incorrect when he said I would become bored with you."

Paige felt butterflies bloom in her stomach and she smiled before reached out to toy with his long hair. Eric's expression turned to one of content as he relaxed a bit further into her couch, one of his hands moving over slowly to rest on her knee. One of Andrew's questions was sticking out in her mind over any of the other ones. He'd asked what she expected out of this relationship and suddenly she began to wonder what it was that Eric wanted out of it as well. "Eric…what are we?" She finally asked gently.

Eric mulled over her words for a long time, his brows furrowed, before looking back over at her. "I have had human partners…but never a human companion." He said slowly. "But you are different, Paige Collins. You make me _feel _different." This admission looked hard for him and reached for his hand to squeeze it encouragingly. Eric continued with an intent look on his face. "You are mine…and I am yours." He said simply. "And anything that we feel will present a problem throughout the course of our relationship…we will deal with when we come to it." He said before offering her a genuine smile.

Paige couldn't help but return it and leaned closer to him to wrap her arm around his neck and kiss him. Eric returned her kiss eagerly, pulling her into his lap, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. When she pulled away, his lips trailed over her jaw and neck so gently she almost couldn't feel the touch. "So what do I call you? My…boyfriend? That seems silly."

"It is." Eric agreed. "You could call me your lover." He said before brushing his lips over hers. Paige smirked and ran a hand through his hair, watching his eyes close at the affectionate touch.

"Wouldn't we have to have been intimate for that title?" She asked in a tone that was even foreign to her. Eric's eyes popped back open and he smirked devilishly, his fangs popping out as his tongue flicked against her bottom lip.

"We _will_ be intimate, Paige." He said in a gravelly tone. The promise laced in his words made her body almost catch on fire and she fought back a sound of approval as his lips pressed against her neck. She decided that she needed to get away from Eric before she did something she wasn't sure she was ready to do yet.

"I think we should call it a night." Paige said slowly, trying to calm herself. Eric's frown was immediate and she kissed his forehead with a small smile. "I have to work early in the morning and with all the excitement around here tonight I'm a bit tired." She said as an excuse, pulling herself off his lap.

"If you insist." He said, standing slowly and smirking down at her. "But just know that you will soon become used to staying up all night." He added before turning to head for the door. She was right behind him and grabbed his hand as he opened the door to leave. She didn't say anything, just threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Eric wrapped his hands into her hair and kissed her hungrily, both of them moaning at the intensity of the kiss. When he pulled away, he looked like he was ready to pounce on her.

"Goodnight, Eric." She said breathlessly, moving away from him.

"I will be seeing you soon." He said, brushing his lips over hers once more before turning to leave quickly. Paige sighed and watched him go, even though she lost sight of him almost at once due to how fast he was moving, and brought a hand up to her lips. Once she was sure he was far away, she closed the door and headed to her to try to attempt to get some sleep, knowing it wouldn't be easy for sleep to come that night.

--

**A/N: Woohoo! Review!**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright, the show is totally throwing my story a curve ball, haha. So if it strays totally far from what's happening in the show, I'm sorry! But a writer has to do what a writer has to do!**

…**but how hot was Eric in this last episode? Oh my word. **

**Enjoy!**

**--**

_Present Day…_

Paige took a deep breath before opening then door then yanked it open. She blinked in surprise at once as her eyes landed on the person that was standing on the other side. "Sookie? What are you doing here?" Paige asked her.

Sookie smiled and shrugged at her before tapping her temple. "Turns out that we're all staying on the same floor. Bill and I are just around the corner." She said, pointing down the hallway. Paige's heart jumped at the knowledge and she looked around quickly, half expecting Eric to jump out at her at any moment. Surely anywhere that Bill and Sookie were would be where Eric was. "And I was listening out, you know, making sure everything was copasetic." She finished with a nod, an innocent smile on her face.

Paige quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "So you were being nosey?" She clarified.

"Yeah, just a little." Sookie admitted with a sheepish look. "I knew you were about to come and find me so I decided to just go ahead and get everything rolling, you know?" She said before looking around casually. "So…what's up?" She offered with a shrug.

Paige laughed and leaned against the doorway. "I was going to come find you because I have some things I need to get off my chest. And I've only told these things to one person but you're in the same situation I was in and I feel like I can trust you…think you can handle it?" Paige asked with a laugh. Sookie nodded with a confident smile.

"Of course…bar?" She suggested.

"Sure." Paige said with a nod before going into grab her key to the room. She debated going to check on Gary and make sure that he was feeling alright after their talk, but decided against it. Gary didn't get upset very often, but when he did he liked his space and he liked to be left alone. She scribbled down a quick note before going to join Sookie, shutting the door behind her.

They were quiet throughout the whole elevator ride, neither one of them really knowing what to say, and they sent a few awkward smiles at each other as they headed down to the bar. Once they were out of the elevator, Paige looked around warily again, keeping an eye out for Eric. If she was going to discuss her relationship with Eric to Sookie, she didn't want him around to hear it. Seeing that the coast was clear, she breathed a bit easier and let Sookie lead her throw the crowd of people to a few empty barstools.

"What can I get you ladies?" The bartended asked.

"Just a water." Sookie said with a smile before looking over to Paige expectantly.

"Same." Paige said with a small smile. The bartended looked at them skeptically before filling up two cups with water and setting them down on the counter. Paige took a long drink while Sookie gazed at her in wonder.

"So…is it true?" Sookie asked gently, making Paige glance over at her. "Is it true what I heard from your thoughts?" The blonde girl clarified, dropping her voice a bit so no one around them would hear.

"That would depend." Paige said with a small, nervous smile. "What did you hear from my thoughts?"

Sookie bit her lip and fiddled with her straw. "Well…I heard…I heard something about Eric." Sookie finally spit out, looking cautious in approaching the subject. Paige nodded slowly, not giving away an answer just yet. "I just wanted to know if I'd heard it correctly." Sookie added as an after thought.

"You did." Paige said with a small sad smile. "Eric and I used to be together." She answered before propping her chin up on her elbow and swirling her straw around in her drink. She was avoiding Sookie's gaze because she knew that Sookie had to be looking at her like she'd never seen anything like her before.

"For how long? And _why_?" Sookie asked in pure amazement. When Paige shot her an amused look, Sookie laughed and put a hand over her heart. "I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm so surprised to hear that _Eric _was in a relationship with a _human_. I mean…from what I've always seen and heard, Eric _detests _humans." She explained quickly. Paige nodded and smirked to herself.

"Yes, well, there had to be a reason behind Eric's hatred for humans…" Paige said with a shrug. "And that reason would probably be me." She finished before taking a long sip from her drink. Sookie nodded, looking at her with interest. "We only dated for six months and I was with him because I was in love with him, to answer your questions first and foremost." Paige began to explain slowly, her mind swimming with memories. "We met two years ago. I was only twenty two at the time and I'd come to Shreveport a few times to gamble. Apparently he saw me before we actually met, but it was the weekend of my friend's bachelorette party that he actually approached me. I helped him get his business with DiamondJacks underway." Paige explained slowly.

Sookie nodded, recognition on her face. "I think Bill mentioned that once. He's known Eric for a while." Then she looked thoughtful. "I don't remember Bill ever mentioning Eric having a relationship with you, though."

"I'm sure he never knew about me." Paige said grimly. Sookie shook her head with an unsure look on her face. "I'm really not surprised that Eric hasn't told anyone about me. No one really knew to begin with. We were very secretive." She said with a slow nod. "Pam knew, so did all the workers at Fangtasia and a few of the casino workers that saw us together. That was it though. Eric didn't want too many people to find out about me should someone come around seeking to blackmail him and use me against him."

"So what happened? Did you fight all the time or something?" Sookie inquired.

"Surprisingly, no. I think we only had one argument the entire time we were together." Paige said with a small laugh. "We saw a few things differently…" Paige said, trailing off as she remembered the one request he'd had from her that had made them have one huge argument. It had been only a week before they'd broken up and she remembered how angry he'd been with her. It was the only time he'd truly been mad at her up to that point in their relationship. "But for the most part we got along very well. I didn't put up with his nonsense and was actually able to keep Eric in check…because you know how Eric is."

Sookie rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yes, I know all too well how Eric is." She said with an exasperated tone. "So what happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Paige thought back to the events leading up to their breakup and frowned, considering ordering a shot of something to ease the pain. She knew Sookie would probably try to read her mind if she took too long to answer so she made sure to try to think of something else. "I had to leave him." Paige murmured. "And it's not the proudest moment of my life so it would be preferable if you didn't read into my thoughts just now." She added as an afterthought.

Sookie nodded, holding her hands up. "I understand."

They fell silent for a long time, Paige mulling over her past thoughts. "Eric was my first…for just about everything." She revealed. "My first really serious relationship, the first man I ever loved…my first lover…" She said with a small sigh.

--

_Two years ago…_

_It had been two months since she'd met Eric. Every weekend was spent with him in Shreveport while he visited her often during the week in Houston. At first, he'd started with just a visit a week to her town house, but after a month he began to come every night, claiming he didn't like to be away from her for long periods of time. _

_It was Saturday early evening and Eric would be expecting her any time soon. She'd decided to come to DiamondJacks though and investigate how well the casino was running now that Eric was involved with it…or at least that's what she'd told herself when she walked through the doors. _

_For the most part, being with Eric had kept her away from gambling. She'd only gambled three times since meeting him and she had been good about not throwing away all of her money…until the last weekend. She'd been in serious debt after absolutely blowing it at one of the blackjack tables. So much so that she'd had to really sink and go to someone for financial help, and that __**someone**__ had been a little shady. She'd considered going to Eric over a loan shark, but hadn't wanted him to find out about her little obsession. Paige figured she'd be able to pay it off soon anyway considering they'd given her so much time to pay it off in the first place. _

_Before she knew it, she'd gambled for over two hours. She was just about to throw out some more chips when the dealer in front of her smiled politely, looking a bit nervous. "Ah, evening, Mr. Northman." He said just as two arms slid around her waist. _

_Paige jumped and bit her lip in embarrassment at being caught gambling by him. "Eric…" She started to say but he simply kissed her cheek and glanced down at the table in front of them, looking at all the cards and chips laid out. _

"_Checking up on my investments?" He asked with an amused smirk. _

_Paige smiled guiltily. "Of course." _

"_Come. We have things to take care of in Fangtasia." He said, holding a hand out to her. She gathered her chips, figuring she could exchange them later, and slipped her hand into his. Many people stared at them in shock as they walked hand in hand towards the exit, but she simply smiled at them and moved closer to Eric. He wasn't usually very affectionate when they were in public. He claimed he still had a reputation to maintain; but as soon as they were along, an entirely new side to him came out for her to see. He was incredibly affectionate and actually very considerate, not to mention good natured. He didn't let hardly anyone see that side to him, but she was one of the special few. _

_Once they were out to his car, an employee keeping an eye on the car for him, he helped her in and sped quickly to his side to join her. _

"_How did you know I'd be here?" She asked sheepishly as they headed to Fangtasia. _

_Eric smiled over at her and kissed her hand. "I've seen how you like the small risk of gambling, darling, and since I'd seen you in there so many times before…" He said a bit teasingly. _

_Paige laughed then pulled her hand from his to run through his hair. "I missed you." She whispered. _

"_And even though I saw you yesterday, I missed you, too." Eric answered at once, his eyes gazing into her intently. There was a different feel in the atmosphere around them, one she'd been picking up on for the past few weeks. She sighed and leaned forward pressing a few quick kisses to his jaw line as his foot pressed down harder on the accelerator. _

"_Eric…" She said in his ear, her hand running along his chest. _

"_Yes?" He asked a bit hoarsely, his eyes intent on the road as his hands tightened around the steering wheel. _

"_I love you." She whispered in his ear. She didn't know what had made her say it. She'd known she'd loved him for a short time now and had vowed not to let him know until she was sure he felt the same, but something about him always made her say things she didn't intend to reveal. _

_The car came to a quick halt and she glanced around, realizing that they'd reached Fangtasia in record timing. Eric had yet to say anything and when she looked back over at him, he was staring at her with an amazed expression. "Eric…" She started to say unsurely, but he moved quickly and caught her face in his hands before he pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, he peered deeply into her eyes. _

"_And I love you." He answered back very quietly. _

_Paige hadn't expected him to say it back to her and when the initial shock wore off she smiled and kissed him again, trying to move closer to him. When they separated just a tiny bit, she whispered four words that had his eyes turning dark with desire and his fangs appearing instantly. "Make love to me." _

_With a devilish smile, he somehow had her out of the car and into his private quarters in lightening speed. She wanted to giggle out of amusement and nervousness, but the moment was too intense for her to let it out. Instead she kissed him with all the desire she felt for him. Eric moaned against her lips and before she knew it, they were falling down onto his bed with her under him. _

"_I love you." He said again against her lips before claiming them again, this time with an even more fiery passion._

_-- _

Paige shook her head as Sookie gazed at her for a long time then moved to place a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I know the look on your face…" She said slowly. "You still love him, don't you?"

Paige looked at her sharply, not sure what to say just then. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, all kinds of thoughts flying around in her head as she tried to sort through her emotions. Part of her knew she shouldn't be thinking twice about Eric because he probably hated her, while the other part of her wanted nothing more then to be in his arms again.

"I can't believe I'm telling this to someone I just met…but yes, I still love him. And I always will, there's no doubt about that." Paige finally admitted. "But he doesn't love me anymore." She said before hailing the bartended over. "I need something a little stronger then this." Paige ordered, motioning to her water. After ordering a vodka and Redbull she shrunk down into her seat, glancing over at Sookie. "I'm such a bad person."

"No, you're not!" Sookie said adamantly. "Obviously there had to be a reason that you had to leave Eric. And I'm sure once you explain it to him the two of you can clear the air a little bit." She said firmly, a hopeful look in her eyes. The bartended placed Paige's new drink in front of her and she finished half of it quickly, her heart throbbing painfully at her own words. _Eric didn't love her anymore…_

"He's the reason I joined the C.A.V.D., you know." Paige said with a dry laugh. "I thought it would bring me closer to him or something silly like that. I thought that if he ever found out I was one of the people trying to help vampires and make sure they went unharmed then he would somehow forgive me. Clearly, judging by the way he was looking at me, I was incorrect." She said before finishing the rest of her drink. "I requested this mission." She continued as Sookie rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. "I requested it because they started kidnapping Sheriff's…and if anything happened to Eric…" She broke off, not being able to continue. "I had to be the one to make sure that the Fellowship was dealt with."

"Paige, it's obvious that you still care for him so deeply and probably not only just to me." Sookie started to say. "I know Eric isn't very forgiving but look at the effect you've already had on him. I don't know why you left him, but there's no way he could overlook the feelings you still have for him if you explained everything. You need to talk to him."

"No, I can't." Paige resisted.

"I mean it. Talk to him." Sookie urged, ignoring her protest. "I don't know Eric that well and I'd be lying if I said that I _wanted _to know him that well…but even I can tell that he seems unhappy and cut off from the world. Maybe it's because he misses you." She offered as a reason to his introversion.

"I doubt it." Paige scoffed.

Sookie sighed and looked around, probably trying to think of something else to say that would convince Paige to go and talk to Eric. Paige saw Sookie straighten up out of the corner of her eye but didn't pay much attention to her as she stared miserably down into her empty glass, wishing that it were full again to numb some of the pain. "I'll be right back. I'm going to the restroom." Sookie said out of nowhere. "But when I get back, we're going to talk about this again."

Paige nodded and watched her go, sighing to herself. She felt better now that she'd talked to someone else about everything that had been going on with Eric but she felt even more miserable now that everything was out in the open and she had to face up to the fact that Eric would never be hers again. It was her own fault though and now Paige had to deal with the consequences.

What was she going to do? Working in this close of proximity to Eric was going to drive her crazy. She'd been yearning to explain everything to him for so long and now would be the perfect time, if only he –

"Collins." An all too familiar male voice said, cutting through her thoughts as the seat next to her that had previously been occupied by Sookie was filled by another person.

It was Eric. She should have been prepared for him to possibly make an appearance seeing as she couldn't expect him to stay locked up in his hotel room when the night was still young. Then Paige realized that Sookie had most likely seen him enter the bar and probably knew he'd come over and say something to her. She suddenly wanted to hurt the blonde girl for putting her on the spot when she wasn't ready to approach him yet.

Paige gulped and stared at him for a long moment as he stared straight ahead. He didn't look like he really wanted to be there sitting next to her by any means, but perhaps this feeling of unfinished business wasn't only being felt by her and had lured him to her. He was still wearing the leather jacket she'd presented to him after four months of being together and she stared at his shoulder for a long moment.

"Eric." She finally said, wondering at how very strange yet so very right it felt to have his name rolling off her tongue again. There was a long stretch of silence and she cleared her throat unsurely. "How…how is everything?" She asked politely, not sure what to say to him.

"I do not wish to waste my time with petty small talk, Ms. Collins." He said sharply, his eyes still turned away from hers. His fist was clenched against the bar and she knew he was keeping himself in check.

She bit her lip as she watched him, not used to seeing this side from him. Paige wasn't entirely sure why he'd come over to her anymore and she had no idea what to say to him that wouldn't set off his temper, so she finally just blurted out the two words that had been eating at her incessantly since the day she'd left him in Shreveport. "I'm sorry." She said quickly.

"I don't want to hear it." He responded in lightening speed, his fist clenched even tighter. Paige nodded and shut her mouth, deciding that maybe he _wasn't _feeling that there was some unfinished business between them and that maybe he'd simply come over to ensure her that he did, in fact, hate her. "I don't know why you've come to help on this mission and I don't care to know. I will work with you while we both make sure that Godric is returned safely and then I want to see you no longer."

Paige closed her eyes at the onslaught of emotion his statement brought and nodded her head slowly in understanding. It was so quiet after he finished speaking that she was almost positive he'd gone, but when she opened her eyes, he was studying her with a hard expression. He looked like he had something that he wanted to say, but he decided against it and stood slowly, a menacing expression on his face. She'd seem him that angry before, but it had never been directed at her.

But it didn't scare Paige; it only tore her heart to pieces with grief.

"My only concern is Godric." He said firmly. Paige wasn't sure if he was reminding her or himself. "And he better be brought back to us quickly." He said once more before turning to stalk not only out of the bar, but out to the lobby and most likely out of the hotel. Paige watched him go, a sob rising up in her throat but she held it back as she stood up.

"Paige?" Sookie called as she started to make her way to the elevators. Paige glared at her as the elevator doors opened quickly and she stepped inside. Sookie was trying to catch up with her.

"Thanks a lot." Paige said both sadly and sarcastically before the doors slid shut.

--

**A/N: Review!**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Oh you guys! Seeing that you like the story so much and getting all these reviews just makes me want to write until I'm blue in the face! So this next chapter is for all you cool peeps keeping it real! **

**Remember: More reviews means I'm more motivated to write! Send away!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

Paige hadn't slept one wink after her run in with Eric but despite tossing and turning all night before giving up and going for a long run around the hotel grounds, she was still wide awake. Maybe it was because the team would be arriving that evening so they could map out their plans or maybe it was because being back in Eric's presence had her returning to her old habits. There had been a time in her life when it hadn't been abnormal for her to stay up for days a time without any sleep since she'd spend all night with Eric and then all day running errands and taking care of her business.

The run barely helped to clear her mind. Eric's words continued to echo in her mind the entire time, making her push herself harder and faster until she'd lost count of just how many times she'd run around the hotel. How was she supposed to face him now? It had taken everything in her control not to break down and sob at some point in the night and if he said something like that to her again, she would lose it.

Paige had paused in her run to lean against the side of the hotel before she collapsed. She had to fight through this. They would get Godric back and then she could pretend like she never saw Eric again. She'd managed to push him into the back of her thoughts once before, surely she could do it again…even if she didn't want to.

By the time she was back at her hotel room and freshly showered, Gary was awake and moving around the main area, checking out the multiple layouts of the church that they'd gathered up.

"I think we'd be better off keeping a loose perimeter during the day." Gary said, not turning to look at her as she pulled her hair into a pony tail. She nodded, even though he couldn't see her, and moved to stand at his side as she looked down at the map. He reached out and pointed to four different areas on the map. "They're close but not so close that our team will be easily spotted. I spoke to Lance not long ago and he was at the church spying on them yesterday with a few other team members. He said there's a training camp of some sort over here," Gary said, pointing to a position to the west, "while the leaders' house is nearby. It'd probably be in our interest to keep a close eye on the camp."

Paige nodded, glancing up at him as he studying them in deep concentration. "Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll take a team and cover that area starting late tonight with a few of them. The others can search the rest of the grounds for any sign of Godric. If we found him outside of the church that would be phenomenal, but I highly doubt that would happen." She said with a short laugh.

Gary looked at her in surprise. "Tonight? I thought we were going in with Sookie tomorrow morning." He said in confusion.

Paige shrugged. "The more acquainted we are with our positions, the easier it will be to fight if it comes down to it. We can't afford mistakes while Sookie and Hugo are in there plus I'd like to already be there when Sookie and Hugo arrive." She said, making Gary smirk. "We'll leave for the grounds around three and stay until ten. You bring the rest of the team around the end of our watch and then we'll play it by ear from there."

"You always think of everything, don't you, P-Col?" He teased, looking more like himself the he had the previous night. She smiled for a moment but then immediately felt guilty as she thought about how Gary had reacted to her bringing up Christine and reached out to put a hand on his forearm, knowing that it would be a good time to apologize now.

"I'm sorry that I brought her up, Gary." She said with an ashamed look on her face. "I shouldn't have done that."

Gary raised a hand nonchalantly and shook his head with a smile. "Don't worry about it. You weren't trying to hurt me…you were simply asking me a question, one that I just can't seem to handle even to this day. It's not your fault." He reasoned before moving over to another map, this one being a layout of the church itself. "That's a lot of space to cover and a lot of potential places to keep Godric in…" He said quietly, almost sounding like he was talking to himself as he changed the subject.

"Yes, but we can assume they're keeping him somewhere below ground. The basement would definitely be the first place I would look." Paige said, moving one of the papers off to the side to point to the lower level of the church. "Obviously there won't be a window to go in through if they're keeping him there; we'll have to find another place of entry." She said, mulling over possibilities. When no safe plan really came to mind, she sighed and rubbed her forehead, a grimace on her face.

Gary noticed this action and frowned down at her, grabbing her shoulders and angling her to face him. "You look tired…rough night last night?" He asked in concern. Paige shrugged up at him but Gary wasn't going to accept that as an answer. "Paige…"

"I just didn't sleep…at all." She said, trying to avoid the topic.

"Don't insult my intelligence." Gary said simply, his eyebrow quirking up.

"Fine…" She said with a roll of her eyes. "I spoke to Eric last night." She revealed before making a face as she studied the maps intently just for something to do instead of look up at Gary's surprised expression. "Or rather _he _spoke to _me _about how after all of this is said and done he doesn't want to see me again."

"He really said that to you?" Gary asked in complete surprise.

"That's it in a nutshell." Paige replied with a nod.

"And when did this happen?"

Paige looked up at him and shrugged. "Sookie and I went downstairs to talk about, well, _Eric_," Paige said with a motion of her hands, "and then I ended up spilling my guts to her before she insisted I tell Eric everything I'd told her. I told her no and then she suddenly had to go to the bathroom. Only a few minutes after she stood up, Eric came and sat next to me so he could explain to me that he would work with me until Godric was back and then he never wanted to see me again."

Gary nodded, looking a bit stunned. "Wow." He said in disbelief. She turned her eyes away from his sympathetic expression. It wasn't making her feel any better.

"Yeah." Paige said before clapping her hands together, trying not to think too much about the conversation she'd had with the blonde vampire the previous night. "How about we get cracking on those phone calls to the team, alright?" She said before turning to walk away. Gary immediately grabbed her arm gently, making her stop.

"Paige, I would understand if you don't want to be on this mission…" He started to say.

"I'm going to be fine, Gary." She snapped suddenly, staring at him like he'd lost his mind. "I can do this, alright? I'm a big girl and I can handle working with Eric while we get Godric back, ok?" Gary held his hands up and nodded. Paige sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry…again." Paige added with a huff. "I'm just really tired and this whole Eric thing has been eating at me all night and all morning."

"It's fine. Go and get some sleep." Gary said, nodding towards the bedroom she was staying in. "You'll need your rest if you're going to be taking a team out there tonight." He said, pushing her gently towards the bedroom. She tried to resist but he only pushed her again. "Go sleep. You're useless to us tired and cranky."

Finally Paige nodded and trudged off to her room, not bothering to change her clothes as she flopped onto the bed face first. Her mind raced momentarily with the thoughts of everything that needed to be done before the stakeout that night, but as her body began to relax her eyes drooped heavily until she could no longer keep them open. Then she fell into a fitful sleep.

--

She was running as fast as she could, her heart beating hard and her legs burning with the effort. There was a figure in front of her and every time she almost reached him, he would still manage to jump away from her and dart off. She realized then that she was _chasing_ him, trying to get to him. Paige was almost to him again when she finally called out to him.

"Eric! Please!" She yelled, reaching for him.

This time he stopped. He turned to face her, his eyes dark and his fangs exposed. Paige stopped, her chest heaving as she gulped for air, and watched him as he approached slowly. His eyes were searching her face intently and his left hand slowly reached out to run along her cheek before sliding through her hair. She sighed as he pulled her closer, his nose sliding along her throat before brushing over her earlobe.

"Eric…" She said again, but this time it was a sigh of content. Paige was just reaching up to caress the face she loved so much when his hand caught her wrist roughly, yanking it back down behind her back and making her whimper in pain.

"No." He growled in her ear. Then he reared back, letting out a harsh growl, before his teeth sank into the tender skin of her neck.

Paige sat up in bed with a start, her breath coming in quick pants as sweat covered her body. She looked around the dark room in confusion, having no idea where she was or what time it could possibly be before she remembered that she was in her hotel room and she'd simply been dreaming about the blonde vampire that had been plaguing her thoughts for so long. She sighed and buried her face into her hands, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. Now he was invading her _dreams _too?

Once she was calmed down a bit, she looked over to the clock on her nightstand. It was nearly two thirty in the morning and she'd slept for almost eighteen hours straight. She hadn't even known it was possible for her to do so and tried to stretch out her still not quite functional limbs.

Paige dragged herself out of bed, her body feeling heavy and almost achy from the long sleep, and walked over to her closet to grab her clothes for the stakeout. She quickly changed into the dark and fitted camouflage pants before yanking on a black tank top and shrugged on her fitted matching camouflage jacket. After zipping it up to just under her chin, she pulled her hair into a pony tail and grabbed her bag from the closet. Paige was just about to walk out of the bedroom when she stopped short, listening to the many voices on the other side of the door.

"She's going _alone_?" A voice growled angrily. Paige wasn't sure she'd heard the question correctly since the person who'd asked had said it quietly, but she pressed her ear to the door and listened more intently.

"No, not _alone._ Just not with the whole team." Another voice countered calmly to the sounds of agreement. "They'll survey the grounds until morning and after I arrive with the rest of the team, we'll go from there. No one will be in danger, here."

"This is absurd." The first voice said in disbelief.

"I called you here to hear the plan one final time before they leave, not to argue with me about the specifics of the way we're carrying it out." The second voice said firmly. His statement was answered by a warning growl. A few other voices tried to chip in their advice but the fell on deaf ears as the two people continued bickering. "You can try to intimidate me all you want, but at the end of the day it was her idea to separate the team. If you have an issue with the matter of her safety, take it up with her."

The first voice began to argue back but Paige decided to let her presence be known and pushed the door open, making everyone stop talking at once. The first two people she saw were Gary and Eric standing right in the middle of the room, a table with some maps strewn across it in between them. Their faces weren't very far from one another and judging by their irritated expressions, she immediately knew they were the two people who had been arguing.

She nodded to the rest of the team that she and Gary had assembled as she walked further into the room, the members going on the mission dressed just like her as they were getting prepared to leave. Sookie, Bill, Isabel, and Stan were also present and in various positions around the room, Bill looking confused while Isabel and Stan looked annoyed. Sookie seemed angry, judging by her crossed arms and sour expression.

"Evening everyone." She said, dropping her bag gently onto a nearby table as she surveyed the situation. Eric straightened up, his arms now crossed over his chest as his eye watched her unyieldingly, and she glanced back over at Gary. "Is everything alright here?" She asked.

"Perfectly fine." Gary answered quickly with a nod before tossing her a smaller sized box. She opened it, ignoring the way that Eric was watching her, and grabbed the small earpiece out of the package before attaching it to the speaker that would go around her neck. Once she had the speaking piece buckled around her neck, she fitted the small earpiece into her ear. "Check it real quick." Gary said with a nod.

Paige reached up to press into the small button next to her throat before saying a few words. When she got the thumbs up from one of her team members, she walked over to where Isabel and Stan were standing. "Has Gary explained anything?" She asked them with a clap of her hands.

"Yes, everything." Isabel said with a nod, looking at her with a new appreciation. "We did not realize how coordinated your organization was." She said, motioning to Paige's outfit. "It's quite impressive." She added with a small smirk.

"We do dress to impress." Paige joked, making Stan scoff. She ignored him and turned to walk over to Sookie. "When will you be arriving tomorrow?"

"Probably around mid to late morning." Sookie informed her, shooting a glance over at Eric. Sookie made a face at her when she turned her attention back to the redhead but Paige pushed it to the side as Gary began to brief the team on what exactly would be going on. Isabel and Stan got up to leave, saying they would be outside waiting to bid them goodbye, while Sookie stood up and walked up to Paige. "Be careful, ok?" She asked, looking concerned.

"Trust me, I've done this before." Paige said with a quick laugh. Sookie nodded then pulled her into a quick hug. Paige was frozen with surprise at first then returned the hug awkwardly, patting Sookie on the back. "There's no need to get all sentimental on me…" She teased, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

Sookie laughed as she pulled away from Paige then motioned for Bill to follow her. Bill stopped for a moment though and nodded at Paige. "Thank you for accompanying her." He said a bit gruffly. Paige nodded back at him and watched the two of them go. She turned around, fully expecting Eric to have gone, but he hadn't budged an inch. His eyes were following her everywhere that she went in the room and it was unnerving her. Some of the team members were glancing back and forth between them as they strapped themselves down with guns, just in case they would need them, but she shook her head when one of them began to speak. Finally, after a few more moments of Eric staring her down, she had to find out what he was thinking.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Northman?" Paige asked after locating her last ounces of bravery, facing him with her hands on her hips.

"Yes." He responded at once, moving a few steps closer as most of the people in the room froze. "I do not approve of your team splitting into two groups. It would be much wiser and safer for you to go as one group." He said in an even tone, though the fire of irritation in his eyes wasn't fooling her one bit. He was mad and she knew it.

"We'll be perfectly fine. We're not storming into the church and shooting everyone up tonight. We're just watching the grounds and trying to see if we can get any leads on Godric's whereabouts." Paige explained quickly as she headed over to her bag and unzipped it with a bit more force then necessary, searching for the items she needed inside. "I would actually think this plan would be ideal considering the only thing you care about is getting Godric back as quickly as possible." She shot back, not taking much time to consider the effect her words would have on him.

Within an instant, Eric was grabbing her by the shoulders and whipping her around to face him. The team jumped to alert as she stared up at him with wide eyes, but Gary motioned for them to back off. "My heart may not have been beating for the past thousand years but at least I can say that I at least understand what it is to be loyal and caring to others, Paige." He growled through clenched teeth.

Paige looked up at him, seeing the anger raging in his eyes but also the hurt shining clearly through right behind it. He was finally beginning to show everything that he had been feeling and he was looking very vulnerable, even if he would have hated to admit it. She was glad when Gary ushered the rest of their team out of the hotel room. Eric didn't release her, just continued to stare down at her and dare her to say something.

"Eric…there are some things that you have to understand…" She started to say, thinking she'd finally been presented with the opportunity to tell him everything that had happened.

"There is _nothing _for me to know that has not already been said." He growled back, pushing her away from him suddenly but gently none the less. Paige knew he would never hurt her, not even now in all his rage. "You made your intentions very clear a year and a half ago. Nothing can change that now."

"Eric –"

"Enough!" He roared, making her jump before she glared at him angrily.

"I don't have time for this. I came here to make sure that the group going around kidnapping Sheriffs with the intent to _murder _them is stopped. If you won't listen to what I have to say then get _out _of my way." Paige said, trying to move around him to get to her bag so she could get ready to leave. She wasn't in the mood to argue with him, not when their task was upon them and she was already having enough trouble dealing with him. But Eric positioned himself in front of her again and made her stop, his eyes shooting daggers at her.

"Do _not _act as though you care for me now, Paige Collins." Eric growled, his face only an inch from hers. She couldn't read his expression. He looked so angry but he looked so hurt, like he was struggling with what was happening between them right then. Just like she was.

Paige shook her head in disbelief at him and shoved past him before stalking over to her bag and ripping it open roughly. Eric didn't move an inch. He continued to stand with his back facing her as she whipped out two holsters and attached one to her right thigh before attaching another to her left. Once her two hand guns were loaded and the safety was on, she shoved them into the holsters. Then she pulled out a utility belt with all her smaller weapons and locked it around her waist, her mind reeling with everything that she wanted to say to him. Paige figured he wouldn't listen to her anyway.

She zipped her bag back up and threw it off to the side carelessly, turning around to face him as she grabbed a spare hat off of the couch. Eric still had his back to her and she sighed before moving a step closer.

"I _do _care about you Eric…hell, I _love _you." She blurted out, angry tears forming in her eyes. She blinked rapidly to try to keep them from falling, watching as his shoulders sank. "I wouldn't be doing any of this if I didn't." She continued, surprised that he was letting her get so much off of her chest. "One day, perhaps, I'll get to explain to you why I had to do the things that I did, but just know that I _do _love you. That has never changed and it _never, ever _will." She said before turning on her heel and walking out the door.

Paige wanted Eric to come after her and stop her from leaving, wanted him to say something, _anything_, but knew that he wouldn't. He had too much pride to do anything like that and she knew that he didn't feel the same for her anymore. She'd wronged him and there was no way he was going to forget that. She was thankful that everyone had found a different place to wait for her and she leaned back against the door, taking a calming breath.

She couldn't believe she'd just told him that she loved him.

Paige took a deep breath and let it out slowly, counting backwards from ten in her mind. She needed to focus. She couldn't be fretting over Eric right now when she was about to walk right into the lion's den. She pushed herself off of the door, holding her head high, and headed towards the elevators that were just around the corner. As she was about to head around the corner, a blonde headed girl appeared with a worried expression on her face.

"Are you alright?" Sookie asked in a whisper, making Paige stop quickly. Paige nodded, mustering up a weak smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Bill said he could hear what you two were saying…he said it didn't sound good…"

"Oh, you know, just spilling my heart out like a moron." Paige said back quietly. She went to walk past Sookie but the girl stopped her.

"He was livid when Gary said you would be going without the whole team. He's worried about you and he cares about you, he just doesn't want to admit it himself, Paige." Sookie tried to convince her, probably hoping that it would make Paige feel better. It wasn't.

"Sookie, I have a job to do. I can't be unfocused right now." Paige said gently with a small smile so as not to hurt Sookie's feelings. "When we have Godric back safe and sound, we'll continue this conversation. But for now, let's pretend like it never happened, alright?" Paige asked with pleading eyes. Sookie nodded slowly then let her go by, following her around the corner to where everyone was waiting.

"Ready to go?" One of her team members asked when no one said anything for a long while.

"Yes." Paige said with a nod. "We'll see you in the morning." She said, nodding to first Sookie then Gary. Gary looked very concerned while Isabel looked positively intrigued by her now. Gary made a move towards her but she shook her head, holding a hand up. "Later." She said quickly. Gary nodded in understanding and didn't say another word about the matter.

"Watch your back out there." He called after her as she followed the team past the elevators towards the fire exit that would lead them to a side entrance and a waiting van. She waved at him over her shoulder, only sparing a look back when she was about to turn the corner. She was hoping Eric would have been there to watch her go.

He wasn't.

--

**A/N: Ohhhhhh snap. Review!**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: I love you people so much. Honestly. I went out to a restaurant after I posted the chapter to hang out with some friends and when I came back, I had a ton of reviews waiting for me. It made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside! **

**So much so, that I decided to write again! Woohoo!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

_Two Years Ago…_

Paige just couldn't believe the nerve of him. It was Thursday night and normally, she would be sitting here with Eric and doing something normal and laid back like watching TV or just talking to one another. But she hadn't seen Eric all week long, for more then one reason, and it was the longest they had gone without seeing each other or speaking since they began dating. They had been together for six months now and the previous weekend when she'd gone to visit, they'd had their first fight.

And it had been _huge._

They'd been having a quiet night locked up in Eric's private quarters of Fangtasia, simply lying together cuddled up in his large bed as they talked and enjoyed each other's company, when he'd brought up the talk she hadn't expected him to bring up.

--

_Eric ran his fingertips the length of her arm as she snuggled up against his chest, her own hand toying with the sheets around them as she sighed and pressed a quick kiss to his bare chest. Eric smiled and moved his hand to run through her hair before kissing the top of her head. _

"_Paige…I love you." He said in her ear, pulling her closer to him so that he could give her a quick kiss. She smiled and toyed with his hair for moment, tilting her head at him with a teasing smile. _

"_Alright, what do you want?" She asked jokingly, making a face at him to get her point across. _

_Eric looked baffled for a moment, his jaw dropping as he put on an innocent face. Or tried to anyway; he was never very convincing. "I'm no longer allowed to dote on the woman I love? I have to have a reason for telling her how I feel about her?" He asked incredulously, making her laugh and tap the end of his nose affectionately with the tip of her finger. _

"_No, no, no." She said quickly. "Of course not. Feel free to dote away…and I love you, too." She responded, kissing his chin. _

_He looked more satisfied with that response, a smug smile on his face for a brief moment, before he sighed and trailed his fingers over her features gently. He looked very thoughtful and Paige could only wonder what the look on his face meant. "Do you ever think about the question that human asked you when we first began seeing one another?" Eric asked out of the blue. _

"_Who? Andrew?" Paige asked, her brows furrowed as she tried to recall what her friend had asked her that night that Eric had almost killed Andrew for being in her house and trying to fill her head with doubts. "Not really…why, do you?" _

_Eric sighed and pursed his lips together for a moment. "Yes." He admitted quietly. "Because he was right." _

_Paige frowned. "About what, exactly?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow, challenging him to choose his words wisely. She didn't remember every word that was said by Andrew, but he _had _pointed out the possibility of Eric growing bored with her whenever she grew old and grey. _

_Eric smirked for a moment then pulled her closer. "About the fact that you are growing older…and that some day you will…" He gulped, struggling with the words. "No longer be here." _

_Paige sighed and nodded. "Yes, but that is a _very _long time away, Eric. That isn't something that you need to worry about right now." She explained. "Don't you remember what you told me? You said that we would cross those bridges when we came to them. We haven't come to that bridge yet." She finished with an encouraging smile. _

_Eric didn't look convinced as he frowned up at her. "Paige, if we come to that particular bridge there will be nothing that we can do to overcome it." He pointed out to her. Paige opened her mouth to argue her point but realized that he was right. If they ever came to that particular problem, it would be too late. He might not be able to do anything to help her. _

"_So what are you saying, Eric?" Paige asked, sitting up and wrapping the sheets around her bare torso. Eric propped himself up on an elbow, a very serious expression on his face as he grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly in his own. _

"_Let me turn you." Eric said gently, his eyes pleading. _

_Paige's eye's widened in shock. Eric wanted to turn her into a vampire? But he couldn't! _She _couldn't! She didn't even know if she wanted to be a vampire. Paige knew that she would miss everything about mortal life too much if she did. But then she looked into Eric's hopeful eyes and caught a brief glance of what life could be as an immortal at Eric's side. The thought of always being with him was something she had dreamed about, but she had always been skeptical about the thought of 'forever'. _

"_I don't know, Eric…" She said quietly, staring down at their hands. _

"_I know it's a big decision." Eric said slowly. "But please do not cast the idea to the side." He begged. "Think about it, darling…just you and me for all eternity." He said with a smile. "I would gladly give up my position of power if it meant that you and I could live peacefully together away from all the madness for the rest of our lives." Eric confessed. She was even more surprised to hear this because she knew how much pride he held in being a Sheriff. _

"_Eric, that's a lot to give up…on _both _our parts. And I just…I don't know if I believe in forever." She admitted to him. Eric's expression changed to that of rejection, his eyes downcast as he pulled his hand from hers. _

"_You do not believe in forever or you do not believe in forever with _me_?" He asked monotonously. _

_Paige shot him a look and captured his face in her hands, trying to force him to look up at her. When he didn't, she sighed and moved closer to him. "Don't be ridiculous, Eric. You know I love you. It's just that so many people promise each other forever and then it doesn't work out. Look at my parents. They were married for over twenty five years and then one day just called it quits. What if the same thing happened to us?" She asked skeptically, trying to make him see where she was coming from. _

"_I would never leave you." Eric said fiercely, his eyes shooting up to hers. "I have told you this. Why do you continue to doubt me?" _

"_I'm not doubting you!" She defended. _

"_How long were you planning to keep this to yourself? And furthermore, how long were you planning to keep me around if you do not believe in forever?" Eric asked, sitting up straighter so he could look down at her. She could see his anger level rising and she sighed, trying to calm him down as she moved toward him to try and kiss him. He moved out of reach though. "Answer me, Paige." _

"_Eric, you're being a bit ridiculous right now." Paige countered in exasperation. "I wasn't planning to leave you any time soon and I've never doubted our relationship. I just think about these things, you know? Especially since I'm in love with a vampire who will outlive me an infinity over. You would think the same things if our roles were reversed." _

"_No, I wouldn't." Eric said angrily. "And you avoiding the topic is only further proving my point." He said before darting from the bed and throwing on some clothes lightening speed. Paige watched him head for the door and stood up quickly trying to follow him but becoming tangled in the sheets. _

"_Eric, where are you going?" She asked angrily. _

"_I have business to do. And I have things that I need to think about. When I return, it would be better if you were not here." He said as he paused at the doorway, his hand resting on the knob. Paige blinked at him in shock then felt red hot anger boil up inside her. _

"_You're kicking me out because I won't let you turn me into a damn vampire?" Paige screamed at him angrily, grabbing the nearest thing and chunking it at it. He caught her shoe easily and tossed it away with a solemn expression on his face. _

"_I am kicking you out because you rejected our future, Paige. Now leave." He said before straightening his shirt and walking out the door, leaving Paige to stare at him in shock. _

_--_

Paige had been absolutely furious with him after their fight and had gone home immediately, refusing to let herself think about him too much. Eric could be so hard-headed sometimes. Paige thought he would realize how ridiculous he had been acting and come over the next night to apologize, but he didn't. She'd become even more upset with him when he hadn't shown up at her house for four days straight. Paige should have realized his pride would keep him firmly planted in Shreveport and had quickly given up on him coming to see her before deciding that he would be getting an earful that weekend when _she _went to see _him_.

Paige sighed and shoved a piece of popcorn into her mouth angrily, not really paying attention to the show playing on her television. She shifted, wondering at how it seemed impossible to get comfortable when Eric wasn't there, and tried to focus. She glanced over at her cell phone for the thousandth time, debating calling Fangtasia and getting some sort of peace of mind.

Three firm knocks sounded on her door and she looked over at it sharply, hope flaring up in her at the same time as annoyance did. If that was Eric, he had better be prepared to hear everything she had to say to him. Tossing the popcorn onto her coffee table, she stood up and walked to the door, setting a smug expression on her face before jerking the door open.

Her heart sank into her stomach at once. It wasn't Eric on the other side of the door at all, but three faces she had never ever wanted to see again. She gulped, looking first at Anthony, then at Marcus, and finally at Edmond.

The cash she'd borrowed. The loan sharks. She'd forgotten all about them in her joy of being with Eric and being in love. She'd forgotten about _everything_ not having to do with Eric, if truth be told.

"Well, good evening, Ms. Collins." Marcus said, not waiting to be invited in as he pushed his way into her townhouse. The other two followed, pushing past her carelessly as they all inspected her house. "What a nice and quant little set up you have here."

"What do you want?" Paige asked shakily, standing near the door should she need to bolt. She figured her life was more important then her house if it came down to it. The three men all smirked at as they settled themselves onto her furniture as if they owned the place.

"I think you know what we came for." Marcus said as studied Paige with a now slightly annoyed look. "We gave you three months to pay back the money you owed us…that three months is up and we haven't seen a penny from you, red. When exactly where you planning to pay up?" He inquired arrogantly.

Paige glanced back and forth between the three of them, her heart beating wildly. Paige had known that her gambling obsession would some day come back to bite her in the rear end, and the day had finally come. If only Eric could show up just then. If only she had told somebody about her gambling problem. If only she had _money._ "I…I was going to pay, I promise." She said with a nod. "I just…I don't get paid much at my job and I've been trying to save up but I have bills to pay and things to take care of…" She tried to explain.

The three men frowned deeper and deeper with each word. "So you're saying that you have none of the money that you owe us?" Edmond asked, settled his hand on the inside of his jacket. Paige felt a shiver of fear shoot up her spine at what he could be reaching for but Marcus shook his head at him.

"I'm s-s-sorry." She stuttered out. "I don't have it yet." Paige admitted before quickly adding, "But I can get it! I know I can! Just give me a little bit more time!"

"We've given you all the time we deem necessary." Anthony said. "But we do have an idea for you…" He said glancing over at Marcus.

"Why don't you ask your vampire boyfriend for the money? Or even better yet, maybe _we _can go to him to ask him." Marcus suggested with a cruel smile. Paige froze in fear. How did they know about Eric? How could they have possibly found out about that and how were they going to use him against her? "Oh yes, we know about your relationship with him, Paige. You really should be more secretive about who you're seen with when you're involved in situations like these." He said with a smirk.

"I can't ask him…I don't want him to know about this." Paige said at once, shaking her head. "Just…just please leave him out of this. I'll get you the money, just leave Eric alone." She pleaded, not liking that they would be anywhere near him. "He's not involved with this."

"If he's involved with you, he's involved in this." Edmond said, trying to sound regretful but he looked anything but. Paige looked around at them to see if any of them held any kind of sympathy; they didn't.

Marcus had been studying her for a moment and smiled, standing up and walking towards her with his hands clasped behind his back. "You'll get us the money, that's certain…because if you don't, you can say goodbye to Eric." He said calmly.

Paige didn't say a word for along moment, her mind reeling with the possibilities of what he could mean by that. "What do you mean?" She asked shakily.

"If we don't get the money in two weeks, Eric will be dead."

Fear like she'd never known shot through her and she looked at the other two men before staring back at Marcus, gulping as she did. There was no way they could kill Eric, right? Certainly he would be able to protect himself against them. He was strong and powerful. The loan sharks wouldn't stand a chance against him. With that thought, she stuck her nose a bit higher in the air. "You won't be able to touch him. He can take care of himself." She said angrily.

Marcus laughed and it didn't ease her discomfort at all. "Is that right?" He asked in amusement. "Because we've dealt with vampires _just _like him before…and it really wasn't all that hard to bring them down." He explained. "You see, we have _plenty _of people in our ranks, Paige. Plenty of people who dislike vampires just as much as we do and who want to see that all of our business propositions get carried out. It would be no problem at all to take care of your boyfriend. On the contrary, it would be a pleasure."

Paige shook her head, tears forming in her ears but she refused to cry in front of these monsters. "He'll kill you when he finds out about all of this." She said, trying to think of something to say that would scare them.

"Then I hope he's prepared for the war that would ensue once our very loyal employees learn of our death at his hands." Anthony said from the couch, looking bored with the situation now.

Marcus waved a hand and the other two men stood, heading towards her and she worried that they would do something to her but then they walked past her and out of the door. Marcus sighed and tilted his head, studying her for a moment. "Get the money in two weeks or watch your boyfriend die. It's as simple as that, Ms. Collins."

He went to walk past her but she grabbed his arm, pleading with him as he glared at the hand on his forearm. "Please…please leave him out of this. I'll get you the money but I need more then two weeks. I promise I'll get it to you. But Eric…he has nothing to do with this."

Marcus yanked his arm away from her then straightened his jacket out. "Perhaps you should have made some wiser choices, Paige. Two weeks or Eric dies. Good evening, Ms. Collins." He said before walking out the door and slamming it shut. Paige jumped at the loud sound then stared at the door in shock before collapsing onto the floor, her face sinking into her hands as she began to cry.

How could this have happened? How could she have let herself and now Eric get tied into this mess? She considered momentarily just telling Eric everything but knew his temper and knew she would never be able to control him if she told him that someone was not only threatening her, but also threatening to take Eric's life. Eric would go after them and start a war.

There was no way out. There was nothing she could do. She broke down into sobs on her floor.

--

It was Saturday now, only around four o'clock, and Paige gulped up at Fangtasia, her heart throbbing painfully as she closed her eyes and tried to find the courage to go in. Eric was in there probably sleeping peacefully and he had no idea what she was about to do to him.

She had to leave Eric if she wanted to ensure that he would continue on existing. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but when she was trying to find a way to get Eric out of this issues and she remembered what Edmond had said about him being involved as long as he was involved with her, it had given her an idea of how to get Eric out of harm's way. .

Paige had done some research before coming to Shreveport to find out just how dangerous the loan sharks were, and upon scouring the questionable areas of Houston, she discovered that the people that she were in debt to were known amongst the shady crowds of both Texas and Louisiana as being very skilled and ruthless vampire killers. And this hadn't been their first time to be in a situation like this. According to her source, they had killed powerful vampires like Eric before. They had a huge gang working with them that could easily overthrow any and every vampire they wanted with the right weapons. Eric wouldn't be safe as long as she was with him.

Suddenly, she had found herself wishing she had reacted better to his proposition of turning her so that they hadn't argued and their last week together would have been blissful instead of dreadful. She had some of the money she owed but couldn't risk them going back on their word once it was paid off and getting to Eric. Paige couldn't risk underestimating the mobsters and Eric ending up hurt…or worse. She'd lost count of how many times she had cried, knowing she had to leave him if she wanted him to continue living, but there was nothing that she could do now. She had made her choices, she had made her _mistakes, _and now she had to deal with the consequences.

She just didn't know if she could do it or not. Paige loved Eric so much that it physically hurt her to think of no longer being with him or no longer seeing him. She wasn't sure that she could go on living without him and suddenly she wished more then anything she had told Eric about her problems before hand. The maybe they could have avoided this whole mess.

Eric wouldn't understand, especially considering the argument that they had had the previous weekend, but maybe some day he would forgive her for leaving him. Maybe some day he would understand.

Paige finally took a deep breath and walked around to the side door, slipping the key into the lock and squeezing in through the doorway and into the bar. A few workers were loitering around as they took their time preparing the bar for the night to come and she waved at them as she walked past, headed right for Eric's quarters. With every step that brought her closer to him, she felt like her heart was cracking and like her lungs were about to stop working.

Once she was inside his office, she leaned back against the door and held a hand over her heart, trying to calm down. She had to do this. It was for his safety. She couldn't risk his life.

Some ten minutes later, Paige managed to drag herself to his door, opening it just wide enough to accommodate her body and slipping in, her hand fumbling for the light switch by the door. She clicked it on, a dim light filling the room, and her eyes were immediately drawn to where Eric was sleeping in the bed, his body tangled in the sheets as though he'd wrestled to get to sleep.

Paige bit back a sob and pressed a hand over her mouth, willing her emotions to get under better control. After a few minutes, she walked over to the bed slowly, knowing he would wake up soon now that the light was on. She watched him closely, memorizing every detail of his beautiful face and torso, knowing it would be the last time she would get to. He would probably never gaze at her with the love he'd shown her the past six months; he would probably never want to see her again.

"Why are you just staring at me?" Eric asked hoarsely. His eyes were still closed when he asked the question, but when he opened them he looked regretful. "I am glad that you came." He added softly, reaching a hand out to her. She didn't go to him.

Paige closed her eyes for a moment when he sent her a confused stare before opening them again to stare at him defiantly. "We need to talk, Eric." Paige said, trying to sound distant. She had to. If she left any possible thought in his mind that she might still love him, she knew he would never leave her and that he would try to win her back, defeating the whole purpose of leaving him. "It's important."

Eric nodded, sitting up slowly so that his legs were resting over the edge of the bed and he was watching her intently. "What's wrong?" He asked uneasily.

Paige sighed. "There's no easy way to say this…" She said slowly, her eyes turning down to the floor. Eric sucked in a sharp breath and watched her cautiously, his hand fisting the sheets. She knew then that he had quickly figured out just why she had come. "We can't be together anymore, Eric." She said softly.

"No." Eric said firmly, making Paige look at him sharply. "No. You do not mean that." He said quickly, shaking his head, refusing to believe it.

"I do." Paige lied to him, her heart breaking as she watched him stand, looking a bit shaky. "Eric…we're going in two different directions. We can't make this work…I think we both knew that from the very beginning. We need to end it now before we become any more involved then we already are." She said, saying the speech she had rehearsed to herself on the way to see him. Eric was shaking his head vehemently, moving closer and reaching out for her. When she moved away from him, he flinched.

"Is it because I pressured you into giving up your mortality? If yes then you can remain mortal, I care not. Nothing has to change. We can keep everything the way that it is." He said quickly, his hands reaching for her again. Paige shook her head quickly, making him pause in his advanced. "Paige…please."

"I will never want to be a vampire." Paige lied to him again. "And I don't think that I will ever be able to bind myself to another person for the rest of my life…not even you, Eric. I just can't do it." She said. She paused, choking on her next words because it would be the worst lie she would ever tell. "I don't want to be with you anymore, Eric."

Eric stared at her for a long moment and she had to look away when blood began to seep out of the corner of his eyes. "How can this be?" He asked before he darted to the other side of the room, smashing a book case in his anguish. "I just don't understand!" He said before looking at her with a determined expression. "I will fight for you. You know this. I won't let you do this." He said determinedly.

Paige shook her head. "No. You won't." She gulped and caught her breath, her next words coming a bit easier because they were the only true words she'd spoken. "I don't want you to fight for me." She said. And it was true. Because if he fought for her, he would still be in danger.

Eric stared at her for a long moment then began shaking. "You've lied to me! You have lied to me this entire time!" He yelled, becoming furious. "You told me just last week that you had no plans of leaving me yet here you are running! Did you ever love me? Did you?" Eric demanded, moving towards her at a rapid pace.

Paige bit back a sob. "I thought I did." She said, lying even further. "But I can't pretend anymore, Eric." She said with a grimace.

Paige had to firmly remind herself that she was doing this for his own good, but with each lie, she felt like her heart was being smashed into tiny pieces and she couldn't even bring herself to look at him anymore. She couldn't bear to watch the damage that she was inflicting on the only person she had ever been in love with; the only person she would _ever _be in love with.

"Get out." Eric growled. "Get out of my sight you heartless, conniving whore." He spat at her, throwing his entire bed against the wall and smashing his wardrobe as well as the bed frame. "_Get out_!" He roared in pure rage, the blood running down his cheeks as he lost control about himself completely.

Paige stumbled out of his bedroom as he continued to rip it to shreds, the sounds almost deafening. She managed to make her way out to the bar, all of the workers standing on the other side of his office door with concerned looks on their face. They immediately began to question her, wanting to know what had happened, but Paige ran past them, no longer able to stay in the building and listen to Eric's anger and anguish. Blindly, she set her key to Fangtasia on the bar counter and pushed out of the side door, hurrying to her car.

As soon as she was inside, she broke into fresh sobs, feeling like her heart had been torn right out of her chest and then stomped on before her very eyes for her to see. Paige felt worthless; she felt heartless. She had never wanted to hurt Eric, ever. And she _had _wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But now she wouldn't be able to. He would never take her back after she had everything settled with her debts. They were finished. Over.

And she only had herself to blame.

--

**A/N: I must have read over that chapter eighteen times. I'm so sorry if it sucked. Review!**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! **

**I don't think I've ever gotten this kind of response to any story I've written before. It's absolutely incredible and melts my heart a little bit. This is so awesome! I'm so glad that you guys like this story so much!**

**Enjoy!**

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_Present day…_

The night went by completely uneventfully. Paige had stationed herself just outside of the training area, keeping her eyes sharp, but the building was quiet the whole night. There were a few guards pacing around outside the house that the church leaders were staying in and, according to the group by the actual church, guards patrolling those areas, but everything else was quiet. By the time morning rolled around they were forced to shrink further into the surrounding forest so they wouldn't be seen.

It was hot outside and Paige felt a bead of sweat slide down her temple. She wanted to wipe at it but remembered the camouflage face paint that she had on and fought not to do so. Just as she propped her rifle up against a tree and reached for a water bottle, her eyes searching the training camp as more and more members began to come out and start working out, a voice sounded in her earpiece.

"Paige, what is your location?" Gary asked through their communication system. Paige glanced up at the sun curiously. Was it really already ten o'clock?

Pressing the small button by her throat, she responded quietly. "Outside the camp. We have a little bit of movement here but not much, just a lot of people working out. They don't have any weapons on them currently." She explained as the two team members with her sat down on the ground, fiddling with their guns as they glanced over their shoulders at the camp. "Where are you?"

"On the south side of the grounds, near the road leading up to the church. We just joined with Phillip, Brad, and Garrett." Gary said. "There is a lot more movement around here so we have to stay a bit more hidden." He explained quickly. "How tired are you?"

"Not tired at all, why?" She asked, watching as the members of the church began to run through an obstacle course, a larger man who was obviously a leader of some sort yelling at them the entire way. Paige shook her head, disgust filling her. She could only guess why these certain members were going through training just then.

"I was going to suggest going back to the hotel to rest, but I think I already know that answer." Gary responded.

Paige smirked. "I'm not going anywhere. Where are Sookie and Hugo? Have they arrived yet?"

"They arranged the meeting a little later then expected. They're coming in the afternoon now instead of the morning." Gary said. "But I'll know exactly when they get here." He started speaking again but the voice of Nick, one of the team members on the east side, came in, cutting off their conversation and making her frown.

"Gary, Paige, you'd better come over to the east side of the grounds. There's something here you might want to see." Paige frowned deeper, looking to the other two men with her before grabbing for her gun.

"On my way." She said before turning to the other two men with her. "You two stay here and keep an eye on them." Paige instructed, motioning to the training that was taking place. Both of her men nodded and she quickly began to make her way towards the east side of the church, thankful for all the foliage around them to cover her. She had no idea what could be over on that side of the church, since she was sure she would have been told about it by now.

It took a while for her to get to the east side of the grounds since the camp she was positioned by had been relatively far away from the church, but after a long trek she paused to check her map and then looked in the direction the rest of the team should be in. Paige folded the map up and slipped it into her jacket before continuing on, keeping her gun at the ready should she encounter anyone.

"Right here." A voice hissed as she walked past a large bush about ten minutes later. She turned her head and smiled with a nod, spotting Tyler as he poked his head around the tree.

"There you are. Took me long enough to get here. These grounds are huge." She said as she slung her gun over her shoulder and went over to him, nodding towards the church. "What's over there?"

Tyler shrugged. "We don't know yet. Nick spotted them moving in all this wood earlier but we didn't think anything of it. Now it looks as though they're building something." He explained as they started to walk towards the edge of the trees. Paige saw that Gary had beaten her there and was standing with the rest of the group, peering out towards the church.

Paige patted his back as she moved up and pushed a tree branch out of the way. There were two men, one with blonde hair and the other with dark hair, and they were hammering away together at the pieces of wood as they talked. Frowning, she looked around a bit more to see if anything would hint as to what they were building but nothing jumped out at her. "What do you think?" She asked Gary. "Think they're building some vampire torture device or what?"

"No idea." He said with a shrug. "It could be a boat, it could be a house…I'll keep an eye on it though." He added, nodding down at her. Paige returned the gesture then sighed, stretching her neck out. Gary looked down at her and shot her an irritated look. "You don't have to stay, Paige. You can head back to the hotel for a bit until Sookie and Hugo get here."

"I'm fine." Paige insisted, shaking her head. "I've just, uh…" She started to say, glancing back at the group of guys behind them. They all looked away quickly but she simply shook her head and smiled up at Gary. "I'm fine, trust me." Paige said. Gary nodded slowly before holding out a bottle of water to her. She smiled and thanked him before drinking almost half of it. "I'm going to start heading back, alright? Let me know what happens with this." She said pointing to the construction before tossing him the water bottle and starting her trek back to her original post.

The rest of the day went by much like the previous night had. There had been a few close calls with some church members coming a bit too close for comfort to their positions, but they were always able to hide just in the nick of time. Eventually three more team members came over to join her post, saying Gary had told them to come so that there was more guard by the camp.

After Sookie and Hugo arrived, Paige had her men fan out further so they could keep a better eye on their area. Now that they were in there, they had to be on alert. If the trainees went into movement, they had to as well.

"It's been _hours_." George said from her left. He was the nearest one to her out of their group and he'd been getting impatient, just like the rest of them. Paige glanced up at the sky, frowning as the last rays of sun disappeared behind the trees. "What if something has happened them?" He asked warily.

"I think we'd know if something happened to them. There's no way that everyone would be _this _quiet if they knew that someone had tried to infiltrate their organization." Paige said matter-of-factly, though she wasn't so sure. This was the one part of the plan that hadn't been discussed; how long Sookie and Hugo would be in the church was unknown to her. "Besides, do you really think Bill and Isabel would be standing idly by if something was happening to Sookie or Hugo?"

George nodded his agreement. "You're right. They're fine…I guess I just didn't expect for them to be in there for so long on the first day." Paige smiled at him quickly in understanding before turning her eyes back to survey their surroundings.

Long after the sun set, Paige sent word for everyone to tighten up their positions and move in closer to the church now that they had darkness to cover them better. She set her rifle down and turned to the five men around her, all of them looking to her for their next move. "Let's take it in shifts, yeah?" She asked, taking off her hat and pushing her bangs back from her face. "I'll start." She said before moving closer to the tree line.

The others were getting settled behind her and she leaned against the tree, crossing her arms as she looked around the camp and the house. There were a handful of guards pacing around the house again and she sighed, taking her hair out of her ponytail to shake her hair out then put it up again.

She wondered how strange Eric would act the next time they were around each other. Surely she didn't expect him to do anything like grab her and kiss her or confess that he loved her too after everything that had happened. Paige actually expected that he would be angrier with her. He had to be confused with everything that was going on and her telling him that she was still in love with him couldn't have made anything easier for him.

"Paige…it's a platform." Gary said out of nowhere, startling her and making her jump. She nearly knocked her gun over and she let out a breath before pushing the small button next to her throat.

"What is?" She asked, forgetting what he was talking about.

"What do you mean 'what is'?" He asked incredulously. "The wood that was brought in to this side of the church earlier today." Gary hissed at her. "It's a platform with a huge cross on it. Take a wild guess what you think it's for." Paige cursed to herself and shook her head, glancing at the guards before moving away from the rest of the men she was with. She was about to speak when Gary cut her off. "Paige, I understand you're upset about what happened with Eric, but you need to focus." He lectured. "There's some serious stuff going down at this church and you need to be in the right state of mind, not worrying about him."

Paige froze where she was and her jaw dropped in shock. "I _am _focused thank you very much. You just caught me at the wrong time. Maybe if you were keeping me posted on the progress of that vampire sacrificer now standing tall right by you, I wouldn't have forgotten what was going on over there." She said angrily.

Gary was silent for a long time then came back over the speaker with a sigh. "Alright, alright. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's just…you haven't been yourself since Eric came back into the picture. I'm trying to look out for you." Paige leaned back against a tree and glanced at her clock. Her lack of sleep was beginning to take a toll on her and she briefly considered cutting her shift short. She especially didn't want to stay up if Gary was going to lecture her over Eric. "Paige?" Gary asked skeptically.

"Do _not_ take your eyes off of that platform. If they move Godric out there tonight, we need to be ready to take action." She instructed firmly before ripping the ear piece out of her ear. She didn't want to speak to Gary anymore just then and she took off her entire communication set up, tossing it towards where the others were sleeping carelessly.

Paige had _not _expected this mission to be so difficult…or so personal. Seeing Eric again was completely shaking her normally calm persona and she didn't know how to deal with it anymore. She kept trying to tell herself that she wouldn't have to worry about this anymore once this was all over with because she would probably never see Eric again, but every time she reminded herself of that fact, she became even more upset.

Paige didn't _want _Eric out of her life. She never had, and now that he was back in it, she wanted him back in her life with every fiber of her being. She didn't know if she was going to be able to say goodbye to him twice.

Paige didn't know how long she stared at the guards, her mind racing with different ways her next meeting with Eric could go, but eventually her eyes began to grow heavy as she had to steady herself on the tree, her body suddenly tired. She rubbed her eyes gently before trying to shake herself awake.

"You should get some sleep." A voice said from somewhere to her right.

Paige jumped, automatically grabbing for her gun as she lifted it up with alert quickness, facing the direction the voice had sounded from. Paige relaxed only slightly when Eric stepped out from behind a tree, lowering her gun back to her side as he eyed it with an unreadable expression. "Eric?" She asked in confusion, not sure if she'd fallen asleep and was actually dreaming all of this.

Eric stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. "You sound confused to see me."

Paige blinked a few times to clear her thoughts, setting her gun off to the side as she stared at him. "Well…I certainly wasn't expecting you to show up here." She said with a shrug. Then a thought clicked into her head and she glared at the space around him. "Why _are _you here? Is Stan leading a group in there to get Godric?" She demanded to know. Eric simply shook his head, making her calm down.

"No. I came with Isabel. We came to investigate and I thought it would be wise to check on your team before we left again." Eric said, walking forward a few steps as he glanced over the sleeping team members some twenty feet behind her. He smirked, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Some help they are."

"We're taking it in shifts." Paige defended. "I volunteered to go first." When Eric glanced out at the training camp, she remembered what Gary had told her. "They built a platform on the other side." She informed him. "Gary and I think it's for…well, for Godric." She finished gently.

Eric looked angry for a second then his expression went to determined. "It will not happen." He reminded her.

"Have you heard from Sookie and Hugo?" She asked, changing the subject.

"No." Eric said. "Isabel said that Hugo is fine though. And if Hugo is fine then Sookie is fine. There is no need for panic." He assured her firmly. Then he turned to face her fully, his eyes burning with intensity and taking her by surprise. "I also came to talk about what happened between us." He said slowly. "After last night it seems as though we have some things to discuss."

Paige looked at him in complete surprise. This was not the reaction she'd expected from him after confessing to him that she still loved him. She would have thought he would be yelling at her the same insults he'd hurled her way the day she'd left him, maybe even demand she leave this mission, but he looked calm. Even somewhat…willing. "Now?" She asked dumbly.

Eric pulled a calculating face. "You've been adamant about trying to explain yourself to me and now when I present you with the opportunity you don't want to?" He asked her with an undertone of disbelief in his words.

Paige shook her head. "No, no. I do. We can talk." She said. Then she paused and struggled to find the words. "Where should I start?"

"Probably explaining why you left me would be a good start." Eric offered condescendingly.

Paige nodded, ignoring the sting of his slightly biting remark. Now that Eric was finally willing to hear her side, she was dreading telling him. Every time she had retold her side of the story she had felt more and more stupid for the way she'd handled the situation. Now she was going to feel like a downright fool. "I had a problem…with gambling." She started lamely.

Eric quirked an eyebrow. "Continue. Surely that isn't all."

"No, it's not." She said with a sigh. He waited with a patient look on his face as she paused. "I had a problem…and I lost a _ton _of money one weekend before I came to see you at Fangtasia. And I was _way _too embarrassed to tell you that I had a gambling addiction and needed money so I'd be able to even buy a pack of gum so I went to some outside help. That ended up being a really bad mistake." She explained gently, her eyes anywhere but on his.

"You went to loan sharks?" Eric asked, filling in some of the holes himself.

Paige nodded. "I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Borrow some money, pay it off in time, and then leave it in the past." She said with a shrug. "But…well, I was so in love with you and so distracted by our relationship that I just sort of…forgot about it." She murmured, knowing he'd hear her anyway. When she finally looked up at him, he looked a bit baffled. "Anyway…they came to my town house the Thursday after that big fight we had," she said, pausing when his eyes flashed at remembering their argument. She continued when he nodded. "And they wanted the money. I didn't have it."

"And then what?" He asked quickly.

"They knew about us. They'd been following me, keeping tabs. And…and, well, they threatened to kill you if I didn't have it within in two weeks." She said, closing her eyes so she didn't have to see his reaction to her words.

"They threatened to _kill _me?" Eric asked incredulously, looking both shocked and amused. "And you believed they _could_?" He asked her sharply, making her eyes pop open.

Paige frowned at him. "Yes. I asked around about them. They've killed vampires before, some just as powerful as you. And I wasn't going to risk your life, Eric. I loved you too much to let anything happen to you because of my own stupid mistakes." She said sharply. Eric looked away, his jaw clenching.

"You seem to be fond of that word these days, Paige." He said quietly. She didn't know how to take that remark, but Eric looked tense and guarded. He looked back over at her, his eyes trailing over her form for a minute before nodding at her. "Continue."

Paige shrugged at him. "Well…I didn't think I'd be able to get the money in time. And I figured if I wasn't with you anymore then you'd at least be safe. If I _did _get the money to them in time, then I wanted to make sure they wouldn't come after you just out of spite. They _hated _vampires apparently." She explained gently.

"Were you planning to return to me once you were finished with them?" Eric asked quickly.

"I wanted to but I knew you would never take me back. Not after everything I had to tell you to try to make it believable that I didn't want to be with you anymore." Paige admitted softly. "I never wanted to leave you. Ever. But I needed you to be safe. Eric, I would do anything for you." She said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I would do anything to keep you safe, anything to keep you alive. I would gladly give myself up for you if I had to."

Eric shook his head and she saw him swallow hard. "I would never ask you to do such a thing." He said evenly. Paige watched him as he took in all the information she'd revealed to him, and then watched as he reached up and ran a hand through his hair. It was something she had rarely seen him do, but she knew at once that he was extremely frustrated even if his face wasn't showing it. "This wasn't what I had expected." He said. "I had thought…" He started to say but stopped himself short.

"Please go on." Paige urged, wanting to figure out just what he was thinking.

Eric stared at her for a long moment then shook his head, a sarcastic smirk on his lips. "I had thought it was me. That I had pushed you too far, that I wasn't…that I wasn't what you wanted or that I wasn't pleasingyou anymore." He said, looking angry with himself for admitting this to her. "And it seems I'm unable to hold my tongue around you anymore."

Paige smiled gently, moving forward and he watched her every move. "It was _never _you." She assured him. "You're everything I've ever wanted and that has never and _will _never change." Paige said, watching as he took a deep breath, his eyes darting over her face again and again. "I don't expect you to forgive me or for you to take me back, Eric. I don't expect anything from you. I just wanted you to know the truth about what happened between us."

Eric watched her unblinkingly for the longest time but he seemed slightly more relaxed, his stiff posture easing only a bit, when he finally went to speak again. "I have spent a year and four months building up my guard and disconnecting myself from feeling the things you made me feel, Paige." He admitted so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "That won't change overnight."

Paige's heart began to beat wildly. What did he mean by that? Was Eric implying that now because he knew the truth that there might be some hope for them in the future? Was he asking her to wait for him? "I understand." She managed to get out, her voice suddenly deciding it didn't want to work. Her heart beat even more wildly when Eric moved just the slightest bit closer.

"We will discuss this further after our mission is complete." He said. He was close enough to reach but she kept her hands firmly at her side, ignoring the suddenly tingling in her lips with the burning need to kiss him. Eric stared at her for another long moment before moving his hand to reach out to her. His hand only moved a few inches before he sighed and dropped his hand at his side, deciding against whatever he'd been considering. "Paige…just…please be careful." Eric asked of her. "I don't like you being involved in the mission this way." He said, motioning to her gun.

Paige nodded. "Of course I will be." She promised him, butterflies forming at his obvious concern for her.

Eric nodded once. "I must go now. Get some sleep before you fall over." He said before turning on his heel and leaving quickly.

Paige sucked in air deeply, willing herself to calm down after their encounter. She had no idea what Eric was thinking just then, but part of her couldn't push down the hope that maybe he was considering being with her again. They had always been good together and she knew that if they worked at it together, they could overcome the walls he'd built up. Especially now that he knew the truth and knew that she'd loved him all along and had only been protecting him.

Paige grabbed her gun and walked back over to the rest of the team, waking up the first person she came across before flopping onto the ground and using her bag as a pillow. She stared up at the stars for a long moment before her eyelids fell shut, her body relaxing as she remember just how tired she'd been before Eric had showed up.

She fell asleep quickly into one of the best sleeps she'd had in a year and four months.

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**A/N: Review!**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: You guys continue to impress me with your reviewing. It's certainly tugging at my heart strings! Keep it up! I'm loving every minute of it!**

**Here's a fun fact for you Eric Northman/Alexander Skarsgard lovers: Did you know he had a small role in Zoolander? ORANGE MOCHA FRAPPUCCINOS! Haha. Check it out if you don't believe me. I giggled quite a bit. **

**Enjoy!**

**--**

When Paige woke up the next morning, it was to the sounds of the men around her rummaging around in their bags looking for food or holding light conversation as they prepared for another day. The sun was barely peaking over the tops of the trees and she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes to get the sleep out of them. Kurt, one of the men with her, smiled over at her and tossed her a power bar.

"Morning, sunshine." He called before moving over to join George by the tree line. Paige looked down at the power bar before reaching over for a water bottle and drinking almost all of it in one go.

She'd dreamt of Eric all night, both good and bad. Some of the dreams had been of them being how the used to be; curled up on her couch, talking and kissing and just enjoying each other's company, while others had been much like the one she'd had the night she confessed to still loving him. Paige figured it was because she still didn't know what was going to happen between them. Maybe he would give her a second chance, but she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he decided he couldn't go through with it.

The conversation around her pulled her out of her thoughts and as she went to stand, her eyes landed on the forgotten headset she'd tossed away the night before. She reattached it to herself neck and ear and thought about speaking to Gary. He was probably mad at her for ending their conversation so abruptly the night before. Paige decided to give him a little more time to cool off.

She didn't begin to feel the first tinges of worry until morning came and went without the reappearance of Sookie and Hugo. She had no idea what could possibly be keeping them in the church for so long and since it was daytime, if anything was going wrong, they wouldn't have Bill or Isabel to alert them. They had to keep their eyes on the camp and make sure none of the soldiers in training were about to do anything rash.

"Paige, we have to do something." Rick, one of the team members, said from behind her as she watched the camp unblinkingly. "This has gone on long enough, don't you think? We need to get them out of there. Something isn't right." He tried to argue. A few others voiced their agreement and Paige sighed, turning to face them with crossed arms.

"And what are we going to do? Just go up with our guns slung over our shoulders and act innocent while we ask for a little tour of the church?" She asked snippily. The other shut their mouth immediately. "I know it's tedious and I know this isn't exactly how we thought it would be, but we have to wait." Paige said a bit less moodily. "Godric, Sookie, _and _Hugo are all still in there. We can't risk their lives just because you want to go barging in there like John Wayne and save the day."

She turned back to watch the camp and sighed to herself. There was just so much on her mind between Eric, Godric, Sookie and Hugo, not to mention Gary getting angry with her the night before; she thought her head was going to explode from the pounding headache she was feeling coming on. If something didn't change soon with one of these issues nagging at her, she was going to lose it.

"Paige!" George called from over by the tree line, catching her attention sharply. She whipped around to look at him and saw that he was motioning her over frantically. Discarding the power bar she'd been snacking on and setting her gun off to the side quickly, she moved through the trees until she was at his side, the others right behind her. "Look." He said, pointing to an expensive looking SUV.

"What's going on?" She asked in confusion, not quite sure why he'd motioned her over.

"One of those trainees just tried to leave." George explained. "At least I think he was because he had his bags with him and was walking pretty fast. Then that SUV pulled up and cut him off. They wouldn't let him leave and just forced him into the truck." He looked over at her with a serious look on his face. "That Steve Newlin guy was the one driving."

"That's interesting." She said, squinting into the sunlight as she watched the SUV take off again, heading around to the road that led out of the camp. "Why would Steve Newlin be going out of his way to make sure someone from the church can't leave?" She asked herself, watching the progress of the car. Paige frowned and looked at the road that was only thirty or so feet away from their position before looking back at the SUV, then back again.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rick asked, popping up next to her.

Paige nodded and quickly went back to find her gun, the others right on her trail. When she glanced back, the SUV was making its way up the hill towards them "Stay low, stay out of sight. Steve Newlin is the _last _person we need spotting us right now." She instructed before grabbing her gun and ducking low, pressing the small button at her throat. "Gary, come in." She said into the speaker.

"Oh, now you want to talk?" Gary asked, sounding bored but with an undertone of irritation. Paige rolled her eyes and shot a look over at George.

"Not now, Gary. Steve Newlin just forced one of these guys training over here at the camp into his car. He's coming up the hill right now. According to George, it didn't look good." She explained to him quickly as the others all ducked behind trees or lay flat on the ground to hide themselves. The SUV was getting closer to the point where she could hear the tires rolling over the gravel of the road.

"What do you think is going on?" Gary asked, his interest obviously peaked at her words.

"I don't know." She said. The SUV was coming up even closer now and she ducked lower, cringing as the SUV came to a quick halt just down the road from them. Paige lifted her head in confusion, watching as Steve Newlin stepped out of the SUV and glanced around quickly before nodding to whoever was in the car. She'd never seen him in person before but at once she was filled with anger at the things he was trying to accomplish. "They've stopped right by us." She whispered, trying to keep calm. She looked at the others then motioned for them to stay put before she began to slowly make her way out towards the road. "I'm moving in to get a closer look." She said before grabbing her gun with both hands and moving slowly and stealthily through the trees, Gary's words of protest sounding in her ear the entire way.

Paige froze when the backdoor to the SUV opened and a blonde haired man was shoved out of the car. Instantly she recognized him as one of the workers that had been building the platform on the other side of the grounds. She tensed as a much larger man stepped out after him and grabbed him in a tight hold, suddenly producing a knife and holding it against the man's throat. Paige cursed and slid her finger onto the trigger of her gun, ready to interrupt if need be.

Steve was already talking to the blonde but she couldn't hear was he was saying, so she slowly moved closer, trying to keep quiet. The blonde was breathing hard when she got close enough to hear, making sure she was out of sight, and finally she could here what was being said.

"And you know what burns me the most? Is that I brought you into my home. I treated you like a family." The reverend was saying, making Paige frown as the voices of her team members filled her ear. She turned to them and held one hand up, signaling them to be quiet, before moving even closer. They were only ten feet from her now and she held her breath, praying she wouldn't step on a twig and give herself away.

"I know and I'm so sorry." The blonde said quickly. He seemed to struggle over his next words, choosing them carefully. "I'm weak."

"Yes you are." Steve agreed. "I gave you a chance at salvation. A chance to live in his holy light and you chose _them_?" He asked, making Paige frown in confusion. What was this reverend going on about? Had the vampires sent in someone else without her knowing? Had the C.A.V.D. gone undercover? No, she decided. She'd know if they had.

The blonde made sounds of agreement. "I know I was wrong –" Then he paused, looking at the reverend unsurely. "…wait, who are them?" He asked, sounding completely lost.

"Oh please, cut the act." Steve said at once, looking very unconvinced. "I know who you are and who you're working for."

There was a moment of pause. "The road crew?" The blonde asked dumbly.

Steve laughed and Paige quirked an eyebrow, feeling just as lost as the person being held captive did. "That's funny. Oh boy, I didn't think you were the sharpest tool in the shed…good at taking orders but not too bright. But boy was I wrong. You are snakier then a snake in the grass."

"Steve buddy…whoa." The blonde said, moving forward a bit as the man holding him loosened his grip only to be jerked back again by his hair, the knife at his throat again. "You're making a mistake. Ok?" He tried to reason, his thick accent ringing clear and sounding very familiar to her. "You're confusing me with somebody else or something."

Paige peaked at the reverend and watched him close his eyes as he took a deep breath. "Say a prayer." He instructed before looking at the blonde with loathing. "You're going to hell. And you are going there today." He said. Paige held her gun a little more firmly, not sure if she should jump to the defense of this church member or not. One the one hand, he was still a member of the church holding Godric captive. On the other, he was obviously doing something to betray that church.

"Steve…" He said as the reverend walked back to his SUV.

"Take care of him." Steve instructed as Paige hid herself a little better. She heard the car door open and shut as Steve stated up the car again and she bit her lip, peaking out through the leaves. She was torn. Should she help this blonde or let him face whatever was waiting for him? Paige had no idea what to do.

"Yes sir." The burly man holding the blonde said. "Start walking vampire lover." He said before pushing the guy ahead of him.

Paige's ears perked up at hearing those words. So the blonde was trying to help the vampires as well? She watched them start to walk away, ducking her head to hide when the SUV passed quite close to her position, then looked up at where the rest of the team was waiting. They had to help out this guy but it would be way too noticeable if they all went. It didn't take her long to make up her mind about what she wanted to do.

"George." She said, pressing the small button at her throat.

"What's going on down there Paige? We couldn't hear a thing. What happened?" George responded almost immediately. She glanced back over towards the two men getting further and further away from her. "Paige?"

"Listen, this guy they have is helping out the vampires too. I'm going to follow them and see if I can get him away from Mr. Clean. You take the others and rendezvous with Gary. I have a feeling some serious trouble is brewing and we need to get together for this one." Paige explained quickly as she began to make her way through the trees after the two men.

"Paige! That's insane!" A new voice, Hunter, broke out over the line. "You can't go alone. If you're caught you won't have anyone to help you."

"If push comes to shove then I'll get blondie to help out. Now go. That's an order. I'll meet you on the east side. Tell Gary not to go anywhere until I get there." She said firmly before switching off her gear and holding the gun up a little more as she concentrated on catching up with two Fellowship members.

She followed them stealthily, staying hidden in the trees, and never took her eyes off of them. Something about the blonde seemed very familiar to her, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Paige also couldn't put her finger on just where he was being led to, but she figured it was some place where he could be 'taken care of' discreetly.

She wasn't going to let that happen.

They'd been walking for a long time and she began to feel the anticipation of her possible rescue building, making her clutch her gun tighter. Not only that, but Paige was sure she was going to be caught at any moment. The burly guy holding onto blondie had turned around multiple times as they walked along the road, his eyes searching the trees suspiciously when he did. She knew she was making too much noise trying to keep up with their pace, but she couldn't let them get far away.

Blondie had been trying to convince his captor to let him go almost the whole time they'd been walking. She briefly considered switching on her gear to check in with Gary and see if George or Rick or maybe Hunter had gotten into contact with him, but decided against it. "I'm a good soldier for Christ." Blondie was saying as she stepped over a fallen tree limb. "And I'm telling you, man, there's been some kind of mistake."

Quite suddenly, Blondie was pulled to a violent stop and his captor bent in close, seething with anger. Paige fell to one knee quickly, raising her gun up to aim it at the burly man should he attack. "You're damn right there's been a mistake, boy." He growled. "It started the minute your momma spread her legs and pushed out you and your whore of a sister."

The insult even made her look up from her gun in surprise. His sister? What did she have _anything _to do with this? The insult was enough to drive the anger through Blondie because he quickly fought his way free, landing a solid punch on his captors face. "Don't _ever_ talk about my sister." He yelled angrily.

The captor spat one more insult and that was all it took for Blondie to tackle him to the ground, a quick fight ensuing. Paige watched, keeping her gun at the ready, but he seemed perfectly capable of taking care of himself as he landed plenty of solid punches and even a few kicks to the Fellowship guard. Paige saw that the fight was coming to an end and stood up slowly, watching as Blondie landed one more kick to the man's ground, spat out some parting words, then grabbed the knife before continuing on ahead in a run.

Paige watched him go for a second before breaking into a run to catch up. She weaved in and out of the trees, keeping her gun at her side, and finally saw Blondie stop and turn, his suspicious eyes turned into her direction. Finally, she slowed down and walked out into the road where he could see her. Immediately he raised the knife he was holding, not looking trusting of her at all.

"Quite a fight. Glad I didn't have to intervene." Paige said with a smile as she walked towards him, slinging her gun over her shoulder. Blondie watched her suspiciously, his eyes trialing over her attire more then once, and when she continued to get closer he took on a defensive pose, waving the knife at her.

"Don't come any closer. I don't care if you're a woman, I will _mess you up_." He threatened with a no-nonsense look on his face.

Paige rolled her eyes and continued walking, going right past him as he jumped away from her, knowing he would follow her. "Put the knife away. We're fighting the same fight, Blondie." She called back to him as she toyed with her gear, turning it back on. She heard his footsteps behind her and she smirked to herself, pressing the button at her neck. "Gary, I have the guy Newlin captured and we're headed in your direction." Paige informed him as Blondie caught up with her, his eyes watching her unyieldingly.

"Good. And don't ever turn your headset off again when you decide to do something solo, especially after ignoring your partner all night." Gary scolded her angrily. "We're going to have a serious talk when all of this is over with. See you soon."

Paige looked over at Blondie, who looked like he was bursting at the seams with unanswered questions, when the line went quiet and raised her eyebrows at him as they continued on. "Yes?"

The dam broke as soon as he got that one prompt. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that with all the camo paint on your face? Who's Gary? Why are you following me?" He asked rapidly, looking extremely lost. Even though she had the strong indication that he wasn't extremely sharp, he was actually kind of attractive.

"And why should I divulge all this information? How I do I know I can trust you?" She asked him, crossing her arms as she came to a stop. He stopped right in front of her, mimicking her pose and giving her a challenging look.

"Because they were trying to _kill _me and I'm damned confused right now with people turning on me and army girls jumping out of bushes at me and quite frankly, I'm getting _pissed off._" He said, looking incredulous.

Paige made a face and shrugged, continuing on. "Fair enough." She said. "My name is Paige Collins, I'm _not _an army girl, I came to find a vampire that has been kidnapped by this church, I'm dressed like this because we were trying to remain incognito, Gary is my partner who's helping me lead our team which is stationed all around the grounds and I only started following you when we saw you get pulled into Newlin's SUV." She answered steadily. "Answer all your questions?"

He made a face then nodded, his mood changing at once. "Well, yeah." He said with a small lopsided smile. Paige just shook her head with a smirk.

"Any idea why were they trying to kill you?" She asked him, nodding backwards towards where they'd left the burly man behind. Blondie snorted and shook his head, waving a hand around as he shoved the knife he'd taken between his belt and his jeans.

His smile fell at once. "Hell if I know. Everyone here has gone crazy...well, crazier then they already were." He said with a shake of his head. "I have no idea what Steve was talking about back there but I have the feeling something bad is about to happen." He said quickly, rubbing his hands together.

Paige nodded a few times. "Not if we have anything to say about it." She promised him. "What's your name?"

"Jason. Jason Stackhouse."

Paige froze, coming to a quick stop, and stared at him in shock, the name ringing in her ears. _That _was why he had seemed so familiar to her and _that _was why his accent and face had stuck out in her mind; he was Sookie's brother. Immediately, everything clicked into place. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." She said as she started again, walking quicker. Jason followed her as she pressed the small button at her throat again. "Gary, damnit, come in." She said in exasperation.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked at the same time Gary did. Jason looked very concerned at her change of mood.

"The guy Newlin took is Jason _Stackhouse_." She informed Gary quickly, holding up a hand to Jason as he tried to send another barrage of questions at her. "Do you know what that means, Gary?"

"Shit." Gary responded at once. "If I'm thinking what you're thinking, it can only mean one thing. Does he know Sookie is in there?"

"Not that I know of. But the Fellowship sure knows who she is. That might explain why we haven't seen or heard from her in a day." Paige responded, her mind reeling. The Fellowship had to know about Sookie and know that she'd tried to infiltrate their church for the vampires. They wouldn't be hurling out insults about her if they thought she was legit. Not to mention that they automatically assumed that Jason was up to no good. All signs were pointing to a bad outcome.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Jason demanded, pulling Paige to a stop. She looked down at his hand on her arm and he did too, pulling it away quickly and holding his hands up in defense. "Something is going on and I want to know what, especially if it concerns me." Jason justified with a short nod.

Paige sighed. "We'll talk when we get there, Gary." She said as a goodbye before looking up at Jason with a frown. "When was the last time you saw your sister?" She asked him, crossing her arms. Jason immediately looked as though he were on alert, his brows coming together as he studied her unsurely.

"How do you know about Sookie?" He countered. Paige tilted her head at him, letting him know she wouldn't answer his question until he answered hers. Jason rolled his eyes and threw his hands up. "Fine. I don't know…a while? All the days kind of run together here." He answered. "Now how do you know about her?"

"She's been helping us find Godric, the vampire the Fellowship kidnapped." Paige answered, watching the wheels turn in Jason's head. "She's in the church as we speak." She added. Jason seemed to figure it out then since he snapped his fingers in her face, making her jump, a look of understanding on his face.

"Do _they_ have Sookie?" He demanded to know, immediately looking livid.

"I can only assume that now." She answered with a nod.

Jason immediately grabbed her by the arm and began to pull her with him, cursing repeatedly, walking at a pace so rapid she had to jog to keep up with him. "We have to get in there. She isn't safe with them, especially not if they're already trying to kill me." Then he looked up at the sky and cursed loudly. "We'll never make it there before nightfall; we'll have to follow the road which means we'll have to skirt around the patrol." He said before cursing again.

Paige pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Calm down. We have plenty of people waiting to bust down those doors if we have to." She assured him as they continued on. "Let's just get to the rest of my team and we'll figure it out from there, alright?" She asked. Jason nodded but then stopped again, holding his hand out. Paige stared at it blankly. "What?" She asked.

"I should probably man the gun." Jason said, pointing to the gun on her shoulder. "You know, I'm sure you're good with that an all but I grew up using those bad boys. I know firing weapons like the back of my hand."

Paige scoffed and turned on her heel to walk again. "You're absolutely nuts if you think I'm giving you my gun." She called over her shoulder. Jason began to protest but she ignored him, breaking into a jog. "The quicker you stop yapping the faster we can get there, Stackhouse."

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**A/N: Boom boom pow! Review!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: True Blood tonight! Woo!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

Paige slowed to a stop, watching as Jason continued running, her breath coming in hard pants as she tried to calm her beating heart. She had _never _been a runner. Ever. And Jason seemed to have the endurance of a wild Mustang, only having to stop every once in a while to catch his breath. Paige, on the other hand, felt like one of her lungs would pop at any moment if she didn't get a chance to sit and take a rest, despite the urgency of the situation.

She leaned up against a tree, tossing her head back to try to suck in as much air as she could. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps coming back towards her and she looked just in time to see Jason stop in front of her, his hands on his hips as he looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked in his thick accent, motioning towards her and the tree.

"I need…to rest." Paige managed to get out between her gulps for air. "If I don't…I'll keel over…and then where will we be?" She asked him sarcastically, putting a hand on her aching side as she winced. Jason rolled his eyes dramatically at her and pointed at her.

"_You _would be laying here on the ground. _I _would take your gun and bring down the house." Jason informed her. "My sister is in there suffering only God knows what at the hands of those lunatics. We need to get a move on _now_." He urged before grabbing her arm and making her walk along side him.

Paige groaned and pulled her arm out of his grasp. "What is with people and grabbing me?" She asked in annoyance. "Just go, I'll catch up."

"Paige, I'm not leaving you out here by yourself." Jason said, grabbing her arm again and pulling her with him for the second time. Paige finally gave in and walked with him quickly, trying to find a way to somehow catch her breath as they continued to move. Jason eyed her for a moment then smirked. "This would be easier for you if you let me carry the gun…"

"This would be easier if I let you carry _me_. What _are _you? Do you do steroids or something?" She asked, looking at him as thought he was some unknown species she'd never seen before. Jason scoffed and gave her a very smug looking smile.

"Carry you, huh?" He asked before looking her up and down. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head and wanted to smack him. Then he seemed to shake his head to clear his thoughts, tugging her along even faster. "Try to resist hitting on me for the time being if you can. We have a sister of mine that needs to be saved. I'll be happy to serve you after we've kicked the hell out of Steve and the gang." Jason finished with a wink. How cocky was he to be acting like this when his sister was in danger, Paige wondered to herself.

"Ass." She shot at him.

"Are you single?" Jason inquired, looking genuinely interested as they broke into a slow jog. Paige rolled her eyes, not able to believe he'd just asked her that. Then she started imaging how Eric would react to Jason's flirtations despite the uncertainty of their relationship. Eric had been very possessive of her when they had been together and she had seen the way he'd been around Gary the past few days. Paige got the feeling that Eric would still react the same way and was suddenly presented with the mental image of Eric tossing Jason through a window and smirked.

"You _so _don't want to go there, Stackhouse." Paige warned him with a cheeky grin.

Just then they heard the sound of an approaching car from behind them. They both turned, sharing a worried look, to see headlights coming around the corner at a very high speed. Jason began cursing next to her while she tried to see just who was behind the wheel of the vehicle coming towards them. The only glimpse she caught was of hair flying every which way before she was suddenly on her back in the trees, hidden from view.

"Stay there!" Jason instructed, holding a hand out as though mentally holding her back as she scrambled up to her feet. "Damnit, stay _there_!" He instructed her when she made a move to get back to him. She rolled her eyes but stopped, mentally lecturing him. After all, Jason was out there by himself without protection. And she had the gun.

It was only when she reached for her gun that she realized it had fallen off of her when Jason had pushed her into the trees to hide her. The car came closer, and Jason cursed at the same time that she did. Jason began to run and she watched him go, moving slowly through the trees so he didn't get far from her, and reaching low to try and find her gun.

The car came to a halt and Paige saw a woman jump out, her eyebrows coming together in confusion, "Jason!" The female called out, making Jason stop at once and turn around.

"Sarah?" He asked before making a face of relief. "Thank God it's you. I've been running for hours." Jason began to explain, glancing into the trees towards her. "Steve…and Gabe? They've gone crazy! They tried to kill me." He said. Paige had no idea who this woman was but Jason seemed to know her.

She was just about to go out and join them when the woman named Sarah suddenly produced a gun, aiming it right at Jason's chest. Paige gasped, her heart leaping into her throat as Jason's eyes widened. "Oh Sarah, no!" Jason cried before Sarah pulled the trigger.

Paige couldn't believe what had just happened. She'd seen people get shot before on other missions, but watching Jason get shot was making her feel sick to her stomach. He'd been her companion for the past few hours, he was Sookie's _brother_. She'd felt like she could be friends with Jason…and now she felt like she'd let Sookie down on every level. Paige saw red as the woman breathed hard, looking like she might cry. Paige didn't care if she didn't have her gun or not, she was going to rip the woman's hair out.

Paige just started to push her way through the trees when a strong arm locked around her waist at the same time an icy cold hand clamped over her mouth. Paige let out a muffled shriek of surprise, struggling against what surely had to be one of the guards for the Fellowship. He was strong though, and she couldn't fight him off even an inch.

"Calm down. It's me." A very familiar voice said in her ear.

Paige relaxed at once, turning to face him when he released her, and stared up at him in confusion. "_Now _what are you doing here?" Paige demanded of him, unhappy with the way he continued to sneak up on her. "And can't you ever make your presence known?" She added.

Eric quirked an eyebrow at her before straightening up a bit, smoothing out his jacket. "I'm here because Godric needs to be rescued tonight, Collins." He said in a tone that left her unsure if he was annoyed or amused. "There was another telepath in the hotel. Sookie must have met him by chance. She finally sent him a message to give to Bill Compton, which leads me to believe the situation with Godric has become more dire."

"I'm happy to help but Jason Stackhouse was just shot dead before my very eyes." She said, turning to point him out to Eric. She was shocked out of her mind to not only see Jason alive and well, but also arguing with the woman who had just shot him again, Jason hollering in pain. "Damnit, Eric, stop her!" She said, trying to move forward only to be restrained by Eric.

"It's only a paintball gun. He will be fine." Eric said. Paige turned her attention away as Jason stood and began advancing on the woman. Eric watched Jason for a moment before shooting her a quizzical look. It disappeared in a moment though. "Paige, his rescue cannot be delayed any further. I want you and your team to leave the grounds. I can collect Godric myself." He said simply.

Paige's jaw dropped and when he turned to leave, she grabbed his wrist hard. He dragged her a few steps before stopping and looking down at her, waiting for an explanation. "Have you lost your _mind_? No! You can't go in there! You'll be killed on sight!" Paige tried to argue with him, not paying attention to the argument taking place out on the road.

"I can blend in easily enough." Eric shot back confidently.

"Oh yeah, a six foot five man who is as pale a ghost will definitely fit in amongst the church goers." Paige said sarcastically. Eric didn't look amused. "Just give us a little more time." She pleaded with him. "Jason and I will get to the rest of the team and then we'll go in and get Godric. You going in there is suicide."

"I can say the same for you, Paige. Should you get caught, they will show no mercy." Eric said back at once, looking angry with her for arguing with him. "I can take care of myself more adequately then you can take care of yourself. I will be quick. _You _will leave and meet me back at the hotel."

"No. I won't. If anything, I'm going in with you." Paige argued back, latching on to him again when he turned to leave. "Damnit, Eric, stop being so damn stubborn and let me help you! And why did you even come and find me out here if all you want to do is boss me around and treat me like I'm a child?" She demanded to know.

Eric growled low in his throat and turned quickly, grabbing her by the upper arms and pulling her close to him. Paige gulped as their faces came close together. It was the closest they had been to one another since they had parted ways, and she felt herself reacting to him much like she had in the past; her heart was hammering in her chest while her limbs were quickly turning into jelly, her body melting into his unconsciously.

"Because I worry for your safety. Your scent lead into the same direction I heard what I assumed was a gunshot. I came to make sure that you were unhurt." He said, looking at her with an intense expression. "I am only trying to make sure that you remain safe, Paige. Will you not accept my concern and do as I request?" He asked her in a low and gravelly voice, his eyes boring into hers.

Paige blinked a few times and took a deep breath, trying to find some grip on herself. He'd been concerned enough to make sure she hadn't been shot. He'd come specifically to find her. That had to mean something. "If you try to glamour me, I will rip your hair out."

Eric smirked, his face coming even closer before he straightened up and glared out towards the road. It was only then, as the spell between them broke, that she realized Jason had been calling her name and blaring on the horn some ways down the road while the woman was whimpering on the ground not far from them. Eric's hold on her tightened and she suddenly felt the air whipping around them as they approached the jeep rapidly.

Jason's eyes widened when he saw Eric, and he shifted uncomfortable as Eric pushed Paige into the passenger seat. "Er…" That was all Jason managed out as he watched Eric strap Paige into the seat quickly.

"Get her off the grounds, Stackhouse." Eric instructed, obviously recognizing him to be Sookie's brother. Paige began to protest but Eric silenced her with a hard look. Then he turned back to Jason and gave him a look that would make even the toughest man wet his pants. "Get her to safety or you will regret not doing so."

Then he was gone, leaving the two humans to watch the spot he'd been in with a stunned expression.

"Er…" Jason said again, looking at a loss for words as he studied her annoyed expression. "Was _that_ your _boyfriend_?" He asked dumbly, trying to grasp the situation at hand.

"Hell if I know." Paige said angrily. She couldn't believe the nerve of Eric, though it didn't surprise her in the least that he had demanded she leave the grounds. "Get me to the church." Paige said, grabbing one of the hand guns that had been strapped to her thigh and making sure it was ready to go. Jason stared at her with wide eyes, not moving the vehicle an inch. "Now, Jason."

"But he said –"

"I don't care what he said." Paige said, raising the gun and pointing at him. Jason flinched and held his hands up at once. "Get me to the church right now."

Jason gulped. "What about your team?" He asked.

Paige shook her head, not moving the gun an inch. "There's no time for them now. Someone important to you and now someone important to me are in that church and we don't know what's going to happen to them. We have no time to waste." She said quickly. That seemed to do the trick since Jason nodded and immediately threw the jeep into drive. Paige lowered her gun then and looked forward, her heart beginning to pound with the impending rescue mission. "Sorry for pointing a gun at you."

Jason just smirked, pressing harder on the accelerator. "It was kind of sexy actually."

--

Jason slowed the vehicle down once they were close to the church, a calculating look on his face. He sighed and glanced over at her before looking back towards the church. "The church is on lockdown already. It'll be a miracle if they let me get in but there is no chance in hell they'll you get by." He said, motioning to her attire.

"So then why don't I sneak around while you get past them then you come and let me in. Isn't there a side entrance or something?" Paige asked, trying to get a good look at the church. Jason nodded slowly.

"Yeah, there is." Then he pointed to the left. "Go around the side there but keep quiet and keep low. There will probably be some guards hanging around so wait until I open up the doors and take care of them, alright?" Jason told her in a serious tone. Paige nodded and then undid her belt, sliding out of the seat. Jason put a hand on her shoulder and smirked at her. "If that vamp kills me for bringing you here, I'm going to be seriously pissed off at you."

Paige nodded with a small smile and kept her hand gun at the ready as she began to sneak in between the cars littering the parking lot, Jason taking off in the jeep up towards the entrance. She took a long winding path out towards the trees before making her way quickly towards the church. She knew that Gary and the team would be angry at her for not stopping to come and get them but she needed to make sure Eric got out of there alive and Jason had proved to be a worthy fighting companion. She had no time to waste.

Eric would be absolutely furious with her, she knew that for a fact. Sure, he was capable of taking care of himself but he'd spoken to her about his loyalty to Godric before; she knew he would do whatever it took to get him out alive. There was no way she was going to stand back and let Eric do something rash. She would see him out of that church if she had to drag him out with silver chains.

It didn't take her long to get to the side of the church Jason had pointed out and sure enough there were two guards in front of a single door entrance, the both of them looking alert. She moved a bit closer, wincing when a branch cracked under her boot and one of the guards looked in her direction sharply. He spoke to his partner quietly, the both of them looking towards her, and they looked as though they were going to come towards her when the door behind them swung open.

"Whoa!" One of the guys said in surprise. "Oh, Stackhouse…it's you." He said with relief. "What's going on?"

Paige began to creep closer as Jason spit out some excuse about Steve needing them to go around the front for a bit while Jason covered that door. One of the guards seemed alright with it but the other was suspicious and began to question Jason. Paige was just behind them when Jason decided to just knock them out and hit the guard on the right with the handle of his paintball gun. The other guard moved to take action but Paige reached him just in time to knock him out in similar form.

"Smooth." She told him as he moved to the side to let her in, Paige having to squeeze past him. She was presented with another guard lying knocked out on the floor and looked at Jason with a raised eyebrow. He just shrugged at her and began to lead her through the church towards the main room, where they already heard someone talking.

"Gotta do what I gotta do, right?" He asked before motioning her to follow him. "Help me hide this guy." He said.

Once he was hidden well enough to not rouse suspicion, they made their way to what she assumed was the main part of the church. Jason looked back at her as he opened up a door and put one finger over his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. She nodded and watched him peak into the room first before poking his entire head in. Then he looked back and nodded at her before pushing the door open the rest of the way and walking in. Paige followed him, making sure the door shut quietly behind them, and her eyes darted around as she tried to get a glimpse of what was happening in between the pillars.

At once, a sound she never would have wanted to hear reached her ears; it was the sound of a vampire in pain, and she knew the voice too well to not know who it was that was producing those noises. "Eric…" She whispered, moving forward. Jason wrapped an arm around her to keep her from moving but she immediately began to struggle again him as a male voice began to speak loudly and boldly.

"You see…just as our lord, our savior was betrayed with thirty pieces of silver, a few ounces of silver can betray a child of Satan to the world!" He exclaimed to the congregation. Paige fought harder against Jason, beginning to get the upper hand in their struggle.

"That doesn't make any sense." Sookie's voice suddenly sounded out. It surprised Jason and he loosened his grip just long enough for her to break free. "How can you people listen to him?" Jason caught her just as she was about to break free through the pillars, the need to help Eric burning hot within her.

"I…" Eric spoke painfully, making her freeze. "I offer myself in exchange for Godric's freedom…and the girl's as well."

Her heart nearly ripped out of her chest at his words. She knew he would do something like this and it felt as though someone had just stabbed her right in her heart and twisted the blade around. "NO!" She cried loudly, bringing her elbow back hard against Jason and making him release her with a sound of pain.

Paige ran out into the aisle, many people looking at her in surprise, and she pulled out her spare gun with her left hand until both of her guns were drawn and pointed right at Steve Newlin. She saw Eric turned his head slowly, a look of horror crossing his features.

"Paige…" He tried to say weakly.

"Release him. _Now._" Paige ordered. "Or you _will _die." She threatened.

Steve Newlin watched her for a moment before smirking and looking down at Eric. "I see…_another _vampire lover; another _traitor _to her race." He said condescendingly before walking the few steps down from the raised stage to walk towards her slowly. Paige cocked back the triggers on her guns as he got closer but he didn't even flinch.

"Don't move. I'll shoot." She warned him, feeling her heart begin to pound with adrenaline. She was not going to let Eric die. She didn't care if she had to fight off everyone in the room to save him; he was going to walk out of that church in one piece.

"Please…not a part…of this." Eric said from where he was being restrained by chains of silver. "Please…"

"Oh, she's a part of this too, vampire. And it seems your little pet will have to suffer the same fate as her friend over here." He said, his eyes taking in her attire as he stood only a few feet from her now. "You even got all dressed up. How adorable."

Paige was about to release another threat when the banging of doors surprised her and caught her off guard for just one moment. When she glanced back to see the doors being thrown open behind her, Bill appearing and yelling out Sookie's name, Steve made a grab for her. She tried to fight him off but two other men jumped in and wrestled the guns from her. Paige ceased her struggle when she felt the cool metal of a gun being pressed to her temple, Steve's grip firm on both her and the fun.

Bill watched as Steve backed up with her in his grasp, and it was only when they were almost to the stage that Paige saw one of the men holding Sookie point one of her stolen hand guns at her friend. She closed her eyes and berated herself for being so stupid. She shouldn't have reacted like that. She should have waited.

"Paige…" Eric moaned painfully. "No…"

Bill glanced back and forth between her and Sookie before advancing further. Steve cocked back the trigger on his gun and pulled her further up the stage until they were right by Eric. Paige couldn't see him, but she could hear his increased struggle with the silver now that she was closer. "One more step, vampire, and both of them die."

"If you shoot either one of them, _everyone _here will die." Bill threatened. "Let them go, _now_."

Steve sighed behind her and shook his head, leaning in closer. "Honestly…_what _do they see in you two? Soldier," he instructed quickly, "some silver chains for our friend here."

"Don't! He's done nothing to you!" Sookie called over to Steve while a few men dressed in grey sweat suits went to move towards Bill with chains. Paige could still hear Eric making sounds of pain and all she wanted to do was throw Steve off of her and get the chains off of him. She didn't care if she was shot in doing so, she just wanted to help him.

"Sookie, I will be fine." Bill called to Sookie.

"NEWLIN!" A voice suddenly yelled, making everyone stop. Paige grimaced when Jason fired a shot with his paintball gun right at Steve, hitting him in the hand. The gun Steve was holding hit her hard in the head for a moment before he dropped it, clutching his hand in pain. Jason quickly fired at the other man holding a gun to Sookie, using impeccable aim to make him drop his gun while Bill suddenly pouncing on the third man holding one of her hand guns.

Paige turned just in time to see Jason fire another shot, this time hitting Steve right in the center of his eyebrows. As Jason was wrestled to the ground, Paige made a dash for Eric at the same time Bill got Sookie away from the men holding her.

Eric looked at her with wide eyes as she carefully took the chains off of him, tears forming in her eyes at seeing him in pain. He made a sound of relief though as she pulled the chains away, his eyes closing, and once they were gone he sat up slowly. He stared at her for a long moment before turning his eyes to Steve, running to grab him in the blink of an eye.

Eric had the reverend on the ground with his hand around his throat in an instant, Paige jumping at seeing the harsh look in his eyes. "Eric, don't." She said, moving forward slowly with her hands outstretched. A part of her wanted to see Steve pay for what he'd done to Eric and Godric, but the other part of her didn't want Eric to kill him and start a war. "He isn't worth it. Let's just leave."

Eric didn't spare her a glance, simply growled down at Steve. "He not only threatens to kill one of my kind, but he threatens to kill _you_?" He asked in a tone that made a chill run down her spine. "Why should I not?"

"Kill him!" Jason urged from where he was being restrained.

"Go ahead. Murder us. Murder us before God. We are willing to die." Steve urged him. Paige was about to move forward and grab Eric, seeing that his control was about to snap, when the sound of more people approaching made everyone look up curiously.

The same doors that Bill had come through burst open again. Stan was leading the way with a group of vampires behind him at the same time more vampires began to file in through the sides of the church. Paige saw that they were not along though. Gary was directly behind Stan and her team was mixed in with the vampires, their guns drawn and on high alert.

"Steve Newlin!" Stan called out loudly. "You've pushed us too far." He said as the vampires and her team surrounding everyone in the church. Paige looked down at Eric, who was looking back at her with an unreadable expression. "You expect us to sit on our thumbs while you round up your men to come lynch us? We'll kill you first." He said before smirking. "Same way we did your father."

Paige looked at Stan sharply as Steve struggled against Eric's hold. The situation was about to get out of hand and she wanted to call out an order to her team to not participate in what she knew was about to take place.

"Destroy them. _All _of them." Stan ordered.

Eric released Steve and at once had her in a protective hold, watching as each human was grabbed by a vampire, their teeth bared and ready to destroy. Paige wrapped her arms around him as he held her closer, glad that her team didn't move, looking hesitant as to what they should do, and she flinched when she realized each human in the room but her, Sookie, and possibly Jason was about to die when the only real problem here was Steve Newlin. Eric glanced over at Bill, backing away from the fray only a little as Bill yelled for him to come with him and Sookie as they tried to flee. Eric looked as though he were about to do so when another voice rang out.

"Enough." Paige glanced up along with Eric at the vampire she could only assume was Godric. Everyone froze and she gulped, her heart pounding hard as she waited to see what would happen next. "You came for me I assume." Godric said, looking down at Stan. "Underling?"

"Yes, Sheriff?" Stan asked hesitantly, looking highly displeased.

"These people have not harmed me." Godric revealed. "You see, we can coexist." He said with a slight hint of amusement. "Mr. Newlin, I do not wish to create bloodshed when none is called for. Help me set an example. If we leave you in peace will you do the same?"

Steve growled at him from where he was sitting behind her and Eric and she turned to look at him as he got to his knees. "I will not negotiate with subhumans." Then he moved closer to her and Eric, pushing the collar of his shirt down. "Kill me." He said. "Do it. Jesus will protect me."

Paige looked at him in disgust, moving only slightly out of Eric's protective hold to push the reverend away with her foot. It was childish, but seeing him sprawl on the ground sent a feeling of satisfaction throughout her. "Get away from him, dirt bag." She spat at him.

"No more." Godric instructed her, making her blush in embarrassment. "And I am actually older then your Jesus. I wish I could have known him, but I missed it." Eric pulled her back towards him when Godric disappeared, moving quickly throughout the church until he was directly behind Steve and holding him but his neck. "Good people. Who of you is willing to die for this man's madness?" He asked. Paige looked around as everyone remained silent. "That's what I thought. Stand down everyone." He instructed. The vampires reluctantly released the humans before backing off. "People, go home. It's over now."

Paige let out the breath she'd been holding as the other humans began to file out of the room. She felt Eric's grip on her tighten and slowly, knowing she was about to be in trouble, she raised her head to meet his eyes.

He looked beyond angry.

"I told you to leave the grounds." Eric said in a calm voice. She wasn't fooled though.

"I knew you would do something rash like offering yourself up in Godric's place. I wasn't going to let you do that." Paige defended herself with a firm nod. She saw his eyes narrow for a moment but didn't back down an inch.

"You could have been killed, Paige." Eric reminded her, some of his anger showing through. "He had a gun to your head and I would not have been capable of stopping him from pulling the trigger."

"Better me then you." She said simply. Eric blinked in surprise, his stunned expression showing through clearly, and his grip on her loosened. Paige glanced over to see Godric watching them before she looked away quickly, feeling uncomfortable under his quizzical gaze. She turned to leave but Eric grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. His eyes were on her temple and he slowly reached up to touch the spot where the gun had hit her.

"Your head…" Eric said, touching the spot gently. It made her nerves practically sing at feeling the contact.

"I'm fine." She assured him.

"Sookie! Paige! Are you two alright?" Jason asked as he ran up. Paige turned and nodded as Eric released her hand and stepped around her, advancing on Jason. Jason gulped and backed up a few steps until Paige ran around and stood in front of Eric, placing two hands on his chest firmly.

"Not now, Eric. Go with Godric. We'll meet with you later, alright?" She asked him, trying to catch his attention. He glared at Jason for a moment longer before nodding once. He went to move past her but she distinctly felt his fingertips trail down her arm as he did, his hand connecting with hers for the briefest moment in a quick squeeze before he continued on, his eyes never meeting hers. The move caught Paige off guard and she wondered just why he had made the minute gesture.

"He's going to kill me, isn't he?" Jason asked her quietly as he moved past her to get to Sookie. Paige watched him go until he was out of the church and sighed, shrugging at Jason.

"I can't promise anything."

"That makes me feel a whole lot better." Jason said sarcastically.

"I'll meet you outside." She said to Sookie, Bill, and Jason, motioning to her team that was waiting for her. The three nodded as she headed towards the similarly dressed group, picking up her guns in the process, and mentally preparing herself for the berating she was about to get. None of her team members looked happy and she knew she had a lot of explaining to do, feeling like it wouldn't be the only time she'd have to do it that night.

--

**A/N: Wow, that was super long. Hope you liked it!**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: I had the itch to write tonight. So here's the next chapter. **

**And this season is just getting crazy. Everyone is losing their minds. **

**Enjoy!**

**--**

The night air felt good against her skin, even if she was dirty and in desperate need of a shower. Paige had wanted to go back to the hotel and mull things over, but apparently there was some kind of vampire gathering taking place at Godric's and Bill had said it might be wise for her to go and speak for the C.A.V.D. So now she was in the backseat of some car headed towards Godric's house with Bill driving and Sookie and Jason catching up on lost time.

Paige sighed and rubbed her eyes, glancing at her gloved hands before slowly pulling the gloves off. When she looked up, Bill was watching her in the review mirror curiously. Paige raised her eyebrows at him and he looked away slowly, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Do you think they'll have clothes for me to change into?" Sookie asked, motioning to the dress that she had on with a grosses out look.

"I sure hope so. A shower would be nice as well." Paige chipped in. She could tell Jason was watching her out of the corner of her eye and when she looked over at him, he had a suggestive smirk on his face. "Head out of the gutter, Stackhouse."

"Oh, just ignore him." Sookie said with a wave of her hand and a laugh. "He'll hump anything that moves and has breasts."

"Hey!" Jason said, holding his arms out with a disbelieving look. "I take offense to that."

"It's true." Sookie shot back at him.

"We've arrived." Bill said loudly, cutting into the brother and sister argument that was about to occur. Paige sighed in relief as Bill pulled the car to a halt in the driveway and cut the engine, pushing the door open at once.

"Is this your car?" Paige asked him.

"It is the car we will be taking back to the hotel, yes." Bill said with a nod as he got out. Paige nodded and began to unstrap her guns and holsters from her thighs, tossing them into the backseat when she was finished. Sookie and Jason were already walking up to the house and Paige was surprised to see Bill hanging back. He smirked a bit when he shut the door and pressed the alarm button, making the car beep twice.

"Is there something on your mind, Bill?" She asked conversationally as they walked up slowly to the house.

Bill studied her for a moment before looking ahead. "I am merely curious to be in the presence of the only human I've ever known to capture Eric's interest." He said slowly. Then he scoffed. "Well, one of the few." When she shot him a curious look he shook his head. "I was beginning to suspect Eric of having interest in Sookie." He said. "But since you've arrived his eyes have only been on you."

"I suppose that's good?" Paige asked him, not sure that she liked hearing about Eric's possible interest in Sookie. What if he _was _interested in Sookie and had only been protecting her out of some instinctual way? What if after the night was over she would never see Eric again and he would instead pursue her blonde haired semi-friend?

"We will see." Bill said with a small smile. He went to open the door for her and she smiled at him in thanks as he stood to the side to let her pass through. She had to move past him to do so and she looked around the room as she entered, her eyes almost immediately landing on Eric as though they were drawn to him. He by the far wall, not speaking to anyone, and he straightened up a bit when he saw her. Then he looked back and forth between her and Bill, one of his eyebrows slowly inching up.

"Paige." A female vampire said as she popped up in front of her, blocking Eric from her view. "We were told you might like a shower and fresh change of clothes." She explained, smiling at her as she motioned towards a door close to where Eric was standing. "If you would follow me."

Paige nodded, smiling at Bill as he went to go find Sookie, and followed the female through the crowd toward the door. Many vampires were watching her curiously and she smiled at them quickly as she passed. When they were close enough, she looked up at Eric and paused.

"Would you like me to stand guard?" He asked with a small smirk. "Make sure no one gets any ideas?"

"I think I can manage." Paige said with a small smile before walking through the door that was opened for her.

When Paige finally stepped into the shower, she had to let out a sigh of relief. After being outside the church for two days she wanted nothing more then to take a nap on the bathtub floor and let her skin soak in the water, but decided to make the shower quick, not wanting to be invasive. After what had to be the quickest shower in the world, she quickly dried off and towel dried her hair, walking into the bedroom the bathroom was connected to and spotting a white sundress waiting for her. She put it on quickly and dried her hair some more before slipping on the shoes waiting for her and stepping back into the bathroom.

Paige sighed as she spotted the bags under her eyes, finally able to see her face now that all the camouflage make-up was gone. She supposed she looked decent, even though her hair was going to be a curly mass now. Paige inspected the dress on her and suddenly found herself wondering if Eric would think she looked prettier then Sookie.

She rolled her eyes. She didn't need to be thinking like that. Bill had said that Eric had only been watching her, not Sookie. And Eric had made it seem that there might be a future for them...

Or maybe she needed to stop overanalyzing things.

Paige flipped off the bathroom light and walked back out into the living room where everyone was lounging around and talking. Eric, unsurprisingly, was standing right outside the door and when she walked out he straightened up, his eyes running over her form more then once.

"You look tired." He finally said.

"I feel tired. It's been a long couple of days." Paige said with a nod, glancing over to where a line had formed for people to pay respects to Godric. "I should probably get in that line." She told him, moving forward a couple of steps. Jason was at the front of the line speaking to Godric and when he turned to walk towards back into the room she was in, he paused and looked at her with wide eyes. Then he smiled and began moving towards her.

"Well, well, G.I. Jane." Jason said upon arrival, making her roll her eyes. "You clean up very nicely. And I like that I can finally see your face." He said with a smile. Paige felt a presence behind her and judging by the widening of Jason's eyes, Eric had decided to remind Jason he was there.

"Well, well, Stackhouse." He repeated slowly and condescendingly, trying to intimidate the blonde. "It seems you do not follow instructions very well." Eric said from behind her. "Did I not tell you that you would regret it if you did not get Paige to safety?"

"I-I seem to recall that." Jason agreed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped quickly. "But she pulled a gun on me. And when someone is pointing a gun at you…well, you listen." He said with a nod, looking towards Paige for help. Eric glanced down at her and she shrugged at him with a nod.

"I was going into that church one way or another." She said simply. "It wasn't his fault." She glanced over at Godric before moving past Jason, both him and Eric watching her go. "I'm going to talk to Godric. Play nice." She said before heading towards the quickly dissipating line. When she glanced back, Eric was still having a few words with Jason, an intimidating expression on his face.

She waited patiently for her turn, wondering just what she should say to Godric. It felt strange, finally meeting the vampire that had made Eric into the vampire he was; almost like meeting Eric's father. Paige felt the need to make a good impression on him as though it would help with things between her and Eric.

When she finally stepped forward, Godric looked up at her with an interested expression. She smiled and actually did a small curtsey of some sort, feeling ridiculous afterwards for doing it when Godric looked amused. "It's nice to meet you Godric. And it's even nicer to see you here unharmed." Paige said with a small smile.

"It is nice to meet you as well, Paige Collins." He said quietly. She was surprised to learn that he knew her name. He motioned over a vampire and said something quietly in his ear. Paige frowned in confusion then watched as the vampire Godric had beckoned over shooed all of the other vampires away from them, giving them some privacy. "Sit." Godric said, motioning to the chair near him. She did so slowly and he smiled before turning to face her better. "You are very brave."

Paige blinked in surprise then laughed a bit. "Thank you…I suppose I am from time to time. It's been known to happen. But I can say on behalf of the C.A.V.D. that we're happy to have been able to work with those closest to you to return you to safety…even if the plan did go a bit awry at the end."

Godric simply smiled. "Tell the C.A.V.D. I appreciate their helpfulness and their continued awareness of keeping all vampires they can safe." He said. "This bravery of yours though, does it usually only happen when those you love are threatened?" He asked, changing the subject quickly. Paige gaped at him a bit, not sure she knew where this is going. "I speak of Eric of course."

Paige gulped. "Wow…you're very direct." She said with a nervous laugh, trying not to offend the old vampire.

Godric nodded once. "You love him still?"

Paige blinked and glanced back at Eric, seeing that he watching them speak with an interested look on his face. When she turned back to face Godric, he was watching her with a patient smile. "Do you know about me and Eric?" She asked gently.

"Of course." Godric revealed, making her stare at him in surprise again. "Eric and I have not seen each other for a very long time…but that does not mean we do not speak. Especially when he needs words of advice during difficult and trying times."

Paige nodded, finally just smiling over at hi and wringing her hands together. "Then you must know all about what happened…" She said, cringing when he nodded once in confirmation. "Yes, I still love Eric. I never stopped." She admitted. "There were some complications that forced me to do the things I did. I've explained all of this to him, of course, though it took a lot of convincing to get him to listen."

Godric nodded then looked over at Eric for a moment. "He loves you." Godric stated, making Paige's heart beat wildly. "He may try to hide it, but I know him well. He loves you still."

Paige forgot how to speak for a moment, her mind reeling with what Godric had just told her. "But…he more or less told me it wouldn't be easy to forgive me." Paige said, trying to work out everything in her mind.

"He has forgiven you already." Godric stated before leaning forward and dropping his voice. "I saw how he reacted to you in the church, Paige. The concern he showed when he thought the reverend might harm you, even though he himself was in massive pain. He protected you." Godric said matter-of-factly. "There is much loyalty and love between Eric and I…but even despite that I have to say he has a sense of selflessness and protection and concern for very few people."

Paige gulped and nodded slowly, not sure what to say. She knew that she should trust what Godric was telling her, since he knew Eric better then anyone else, but if Eric still loved her then she wanted to hear it from Eric, no one else. She needed to hear the words and be assured that they could put the past behind them. "What should I do?"

"Give him time. He will come to you." Godric said before leaning back. Paige nodded and stood slowly, knowing their conversation was over. "You are welcome here whenever you want." He assured her when she turned to leave. Paige turned back to nod at him before walking away slowly, thoughts racing through her mind. She found herself unconsciously walking towards where Eric was standing, but stopped when Jason stepped in her way.

"How'd it go?" He asked, motioning towards Godric.

Paige nodded and plastered on a smile. "Fine. I could ask you the same?" She asked, nodding towards where Eric was standing.

Jason made a face and shrugged. "I'm alive, though he did threaten to 'remove my hands and other extremities should I be unable to keep them away from you'." Jason quoted. "Bagged yourself a real sweetheart in that one." He said sarcastically as he picked up a black cowboy hat and tried it on, glancing at it curiously.

Paige was going to say something when Isabel walked by, holding Hugo by the back of his neck as she led him towards Godric. "Here is the one who betrayed us." She said as she kicked out his legs and made him kneel before Godric. She frowned as she turned to watch them, Jason following suit.

Everyone soon began to crowd around to see what Godric would do. Godric looked at Hugo for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Hugo…" he said before looking up at Isabel. "He is your human, is he not?"

Isabel nodded slowly, a sad expression on her face. "Yes, he is."

Godric continued to look up at her. "Do you love him?"

Paige waited for her response, feeling her heart clench. "I…I thought I did." Isabel said slowly, looking as though she were about to cry. When she began to cry, Paige felt someone come up behind her and knew that Eric was standing there. She watched the way Isabel acted, seeing the betrayal on her face, and felt guilt wash over her as she remembered doing something similar to Eric. She wanted to turn to him, wanted to hug him and kiss him and apologize a thousand times over.

Instead, she reached back and searched for his hand. Surprisingly to her, his fingers intertwined with hers as they both watched the scene unfold.

"It appears you love him still." Godric said.

Isabel agreed almost at once. "I do." She said through her tears. "I am sorry. But you are my Sheriff…do with him as you please."

Godric only thought it over for a moment before he looked down at Hugo and nodded. "You are free to go." He said. Isabel and Hugo both looked stunned, as did many of the vampires and few humans in attendance. Stan, on the other hand, looked outraged as he pushed himself off from the wall he'd been leaning against.

"What?" He asked disbelievingly.

"The human is free to go." Godric reiterated. "And do not return." He directed towards Hugo before glancing back at Stan. "I fear it is note safe for you here."

"This is a travesty." Stan said.

"It is my verdict," Godric shot back at him immediately. Then he looked over towards where she, Eric, and Jason were standing. "Eric." He said. Eric released her hand and moved past her, glancing down at her for a brief moment before gazing at Godric, awaiting his orders. "Escort them out. Make sure he leaves unharmed."

"Yes, Godric." Eric agreed before walking over and grabbing Hugo by the shirt. He escorted him out as Isabel expressed her gratitude to Godric then quickly followed them. Everyone dispersed and went back to their business as Paige turned to Jason and they shared a look.

"That was intense." Jason mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

Paige nodded, her hand tingling from where it had been connected with Eric's. She didn't know if it was a sign of him willing to move past everything or if he'd simply complied, picking up on her guilt, but it felt like a step forward to her if nothing else. She sighed and ran a hand through her almost dry hair. "I'm going to see if I can't find some refreshments or something." She said before wandering off.

She spent a good amount of time speaking with different vampires and getting to know some of the other humans in attendance. Eventually Eric came back but he didn't come back up to her; he merely watched her interact with the others from across the room. Paige wanted to speak with him and try to see if what Godric had said was true, but gave him his space. Godric had told her that Eric still loved her, yes, but he had said to give him time. That was exactly what she would do.

"Crazy past few days, right?" Sookie asked sometime later when she walked over, a drink in her hand. Paige nodded and leaned against the back of the couch. "Bill and Jason are outside talking. Weird, huh? They've never gotten along. Ever."

"Yeah, that is weird." Paige agreed, looking around to find Eric and spotting him talking with Godric alone. Sookie followed her gaze then smiled softly. "What?" Paige asked her suspiciously.

"You were talking to Godric for a long time earlier…what did he have to say?" She pried smoothly. Paige shook her head with a laugh and Sookie made a face at her. "Come on, Paige. You can tell me. We're friends and I'm good at keeping secrets." Sookie insisted, dropping her voice a bit.

Paige sighed and shook her head again. "We'll talk about it at the hotel, alright?" She suggested, not wanting to discuss her relationship issues concerning Eric in front of all the vampires in the room. Sookie finally agreed, though she looked reluctant to do so, and Paige thanked her for it. She took a sip from her own drink and looked back over at Eric, who was walking towards her. She nudged Sookie discreetly, who glanced at Eric then walked away quickly with a discreet thumbs up.

"Paige…can we speak in private?" Eric asked her quietly. Paige nodded slowly and started to follow him, her mind racing with the possibilities of what he could want to talk about. Had Godric said something to him, too? She was momentarily distracted when the front door opened and a new vampire walked in. She looked angry and like she was on a mission, and something about her rubbed Paige the wrong way.

"Who is that?" Paige asked Eric, making him stop and glance towards the doorway. His frown was immediate.

"Someone I would rather not have shown up." He said before glancing over at Sookie as the vampire in the red dress made a beeline for the blonde.

Paige watched them speak, unable to hear their conversation because they were on the other side of the room, and Eric sighed, crossing his arms as he watched them. The conversation seemed casual enough until Bill came pushing through the crowd.

"Lorena!" He yelled, walking quickly over to Sookie and the new vampire. They conversed for a while before Lorena went to touch Bill, Sookie reaching out quickly to stop her.

Paige moved forward a bit, feeling like she should defend Sookie, but Eric put an arm in front of her and stopped her. "You do not want to get involved in that." He assured her. True enough, the situation quickly escalated until Sookie was yelling profanities as the vampire named Lorena. The vampire wasn't going to have any of that though and bared her fangs, pushing Bill out of the way before going to attack Sookie.

Godric intervened just as Lorena was about to sink her fangs into Sookie, grabbing her by the throat, and Paige watched as Eric walked casually up to stand behind Godric should the vampire try anything against his maker.

"Retract your fangs." He said firmly. "Now." Lorena did as she was told, Godric pushing her to sit on the couch. "I neither know, nor care, who you are. But in this area and certainly in this nest, I am the authority. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sheriff." Lorena reluctantly agreed. He released her a moment later and looked down at her condescendingly.

"This human has proven herself to be a courageous and loyal friend to our kind. And yet you treat her like a child does a dragon fly, pulling off wings for sport. No wonder they hate us." He said slowly. Paige watched as the vampire seemed to want to shrink into herself and Paige didn't blame her. She would want to do the same thing if it was she that Godric was speaking to like that.

"She provoked me." She attempted to defend herself weakly.

"And you provoked me. Disrupted the peace in my own home." Godric shot back, for the first time that night sounding slightly angry. "I could snap you like a twig. And yet I haven't. And why is that?"

The vampire watched him for a moment. "It's your choice." She finally said.

"Indeed it is." Godric agreed. "You're an old vampire I can tell. You've had hundreds of years to better yourself and yet you haven't. You're still a savage and I fear for all of us, humans and vampires, if this behavior persists." Then he turned to Bill. "You, you seem to know her?"

"Yes, Sheriff." Bill said slowly.

"Escort her from the nest." Godric instructed him. Bill looked at Sookie for a moment until Sookie nodded and urged him to go.

"Go ahead. I'm fine." She said as Bill moved towards the vampire. Eric began to back away slowly towards Paige and she resisted the urge to meet him halfway.

"I wish you out of my area by dawn." Godric said simply before watching Bill and the vampire walk away and out of the house. Eric turned and walked back towards her, pausing when he was next to her to watch the two leave over his shoulder.

Paige smiled at Sookie sadly as Eric placed a hand on her shoulder gently, making her heart accelerate. "Do you see why you should not get involved with quarrels like that?" Eric asked her with a smirk. Paige nodded at once, making a face up at him.

"Definitely. That could have gotten messy really fast." She agreed.

"Can we talk now?" Eric asked her. Paige nodded but held up a hand gently.

"Just give me one moment; I want to check on Sookie." She said, starting to make her way over to the blonde. Eric nodded and when she glanced back at him, he'd followed her a few steps, his eyes never leaving her. She stopped in front of Sookie, who'd dropped into a chair, and reached out to squeeze her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Paige asked her as everyone went back to their business as though nothing had happened. Sookie took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"I think so. Just…mad. I mean, what were Bill and that vampire doing the whole time in the hotel room? And why would she show up here?" Sookie asked angrily before shaking her head. "I just need to talk to Bill about everything, you know?"

Paige nodded her agreement and glanced back at Eric. "Listen, we'll talk about everything, both your problems and mine, when we get back to the hotel. In the mean time, Eric has something he wants to talk to me about." Sookie nodded in understanding, waving her off, and Paige squeezed her shoulder one more time before straightening up to go back to Eric.

"Alright, let's talk." She said as Eric started to lead her out of the room.

"Excuse me everyone." A male voice rang out, making them both halt. Paige nearly ran into Eric's back, who was looking at the newcomer with a frown on his face. Paige looked at the man speaking curiously, sure she had seen him somewhere before. "If I could have your attention." He said. "My name is Luke McDonald," He began to explain. Paige stared at him for a moment before gasping, a light bulb clicking on in her head, and grabbing onto Eric.

"I've seen him before." She said in a whisper, making him look down at her in mild alarm. "At the church. This can't be good." She continued.

"I'm a member of the Fellowship of the Sun. And I have a message for you all from Steve Newlin." He said before ripping his jacket open, revealing an explosive device strapped across his chest and wrapped in tons of silver. Paige just got a glance at his hand in time to see him press the button down.

Paige didn't hesitate as the bomb around him went off. Eric moved to push her behind him but immediately she maneuvered out of his grasp and jumped in front of him to block him from the shards of silver that would be coming towards him, their eyes locking for a split second, his eyes wide with horror as he realized what she was doing. A split second later they were both blasted off their feet and went flying to the ground.

--

Somehow, Paige was very aware of everything that was going on around her.

There was a loud ringing in her ears, but even over that she could hear a voice calling her name in panic over the muffled sound of whimpers of pain. There was a hard body underneath hers and her cheek was pressed against cool skin. It was soothing to her as she slowly became more and more aware of the current state of her body. Then, sharp pain began to sear in her shoulder and multiple places on her back.

"Paige! Paige, answer me!" A voice was saying in her ear, the two hands around her arms shaking her gently. Paige finally made a move and winced before making a sound of pain. The person speaking to her cursed and she was lifted gently, the pain multiplying as she let out a cry of anguish. Only then as the person cursed again did she remember that she'd jumped in front of Eric to protect him from the blast and it was he who sounded so panicked.

"Eric...are you...alright?" She managed to ask him.

"Damnit, Paige." He said, carefully moving out from under her. "I am fine, you irrational and unpredictable woman."

"What's wrong with her?" Another voice asked. She was under the distinct impression it was Jason who'd asked the question. "Jesus, she has silver all in her back!" Jason exclaimed a moment later.

"I realize this. I have eyes, human, and they see better then yours!" Eric roared at him before she felt herself get moved into a new position gently. Paige hissed and clutched to Eric, wanting the pain to go away as she began to find breathing become a bit more difficult. Just how much of the silver was in her body at that moment?

"That's way too deep to get out, man." Jason said slowly and unsurely.

"Paige, drink from me." Eric instructed her. She felt his wrist agaisnt her lips and shook her head, pushing his wrist away. "Paige, please."

"No...gross..." Paige managed out, finally opening her eyes to get a look around. She was on her side with Eric kneeling over her, his wrist bleeding and directly in front of her mouth. There was rubble all around her and she glanced around curiously before his free hand running through her hair caught her attention. When her eyes connected with his, she was shocked to see two trails of blood coming from his eyes. "Eric...you're crying." She announced in her surprise.

He ignored her statement. "If you do not drink from me, you might die. The silver is too deep. I cannot get it out without causing more damage. My blood will heal you. Please drink." He begged her, pushing his wrist closer to her mouth. Paige looked up at him for a moment before finally nodding and letting him press his wrist against her lips, sucking on the open wound slowly.

Almost at once she could feel her body beginning to heal and she found that his blood was more pleasureable then she would have thought. It was the first time she had ever tasted his blood, having thought sharing blood with one another to be gross in the past. Now she sucked almost greedily until Eric gently pushed her face away. She sighed and felt him start to lift her up, another pair of hands moving to help him.

"Here, let me help you." Jason offered.

"_Get your filthy hands off of her_." Eric growled at him dangerously before lifting her up and cradling her in his arms. "It's going to be alright, Paige. You will be fine." She heard him say before everything went dark.

--

**A/N: Review!**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: There seemed to be some confusion at the end of the last chapter which I didn't even realize was confusing until I got all the confused reviews, lol. So if you're not sure what happened there, go on back to the last chapter and take a peeksiepoo. **

**And sorry it took so long to update! One thing that ya'll should know about me (if you don't already) is that I'm a hockey fanatic. And in October, a friend of mine and I are going to Pittsburgh so we can see one last game in the Mellon Arena before the Penguins move to their new arena in the 2010-11 season. So we've been finalizing all the plans the past week and a half and it's been keeping me super busy! Don't worry, I haven't givenf up on the story!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

Paige ran her fingertips down the chest underneath her cheek, a smile coming to her face as they ran over the light dusting of hair covering the firm and icy cold skin. She sighed to herself before pressing a kiss right over the place that held his still heart, looking up to meet his gaze as she pressed closer to him.

Eric smiled down at her, his hair tousled around his handsome face, and moved his fingers to caress her cheek. "I missed this." He said quietly, tiling his head to study her face. "I missed admiring how blue your eyes are…how wonderfully red your hair is…" He said, tugging on a stray curl by her face. He pulled her up closer until her lips were hovering just over his. "I missed the warmth of your body…and the feel of your lips…"

When he kissed her, Paige couldn't contain the moan in her throat, his fingers finding their way into her hair as he explored her mouth freely, his hands running down the length of her back to rest on her hips and press her closer to him. She pulled her lips from his with a gasp, his lips instead trailing down her jaw to her neck.

"I missed you, too. Every day I wanted to talk to you and tell you how much I loved you." She said in his ear, taking the lobe between her teeth. He made a low growling sound in his throat and held her tighter. "But I didn't think you would want to see me."

Eric slowly lifted his head so that he could look into her eyes, his hands moving to frame her face and push her curls back, slowly moving them until she was on her back and he was resting his weight gently on her. "I did not think I would want to see you, either." Eric admitted, his fingers trailing down her neck as he watched their path. "But as soon as I saw you again, even though I was angry and confused, it was like everything was right in the world again." Eric admitted to her, making her heart flutter. "You have always had a power over me that no other has."

"Oh yeah?" She asked him with a small smile. He returned it and nodded.

"You could burn down Fangtasia, kill all those closest to me, and wrap me up in silver…" He said, kissing first her nose then her lips gently. "And I would still love you with every fiber of my being."

Paige laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers twirling his hair lazily as she pecked his lips. "That's nice to know…now I can finally find something to do with all the gasoline, wooden stakes, and chains that I keep in my trunk." She laughed harder when Eric began to tickle her, his fingers digging into her sides mercilessly as he laughed with her. Finally after begging and pleading with him, he stopped to let her catch her breath. Eric watched her for a long moment before giving her a slow kiss.

"Stay with me, Paige. Forever" He said quietly against her lips, making her suck in a deep breath as she held his gaze. "I am nothing without you. You are the only one I want, now and always. Say you will stay with me."

Paige stared up at the face of the man she loved so much, her heart pounding against her chest so hard she was sure he could feel it. Then, she smiled up at him and nodded slowly. "I'll stay with you, Eric. Forever."

"Promise me." Eric whispered as his hands trailed down her body. His touch left a trail of fire in its wake, making it hard for her to breathe or even think correctly. She finally rested her hands on either side of his neck, nodding up at him.

"I promise." Paige whispered back before he kissed her again, this time with so much passion she thought she might faint…

Paige's eyes popped open in shock, the dimly lit room confusing her as she stretched out her body. She expected to feel pain, or maybe not even be able to move at all, but instead all she could feel was a strange sensation coursing throughout her body. The first thing to register in her mind was the delicious smell of food coming from somewhere on her right, and she strongly suspected that's what had woken her up. She made a sound of approval at the amazing scent, her stomach grumbling hungrily, and turned to look for it. Then she frowned as the sound of steady breathing reached her ears. It was almost as though the person breathing was right next to her, but when she looked over her shoulder, she spotted Eric sitting in a chair on the other side of the room.

And he'd never looked so beautiful.

Paige had heard of the affects of drinking vampire blood and she had never felt the necessity to indulge in it since she was already so attracted to and in love with Eric, but now it was as though she'd never even seen him before. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance; the way the light hit his blonde hair, the firm muscles moving underneath his black t-shirt, the way his eyes seemed to practically glitter…she'd never seen him look so gorgeous.

She gulped, watching as he smirked at her slowly, and blinked her eyes a few times to try to get her thoughts back on track. She could hear conversation in the next room and it was incredibly distracting as she tried to remember where she was, though his scent was filling her nose and making her heart thud hard as well as her mind race. Paige didn't quite recognize the room that she was in, though it looked very familiar to her. Finally, after taking in her surroundings, she looked back at him.

"Where are we?" Paige finally asked him, sitting up slowly and turning to face him. She was wearing a black button up shirt that she strongly suspected to belong to the blonde vampire sitting before her.

"You are in my room back at the hotel." Eric said, leaning back casually in the chair and stretching out his long legs. No wonder his scent was surrounding her; she was in his bed. Paige was suddenly overcome with the urge to run across the room and throw herself at him, his lips looking entirely too empting not to. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as he watched her. "I brought you here until you were finished healing." He said, nodding his head towards the nightstand next to his bed. She spotted a bowl filled with bloody shards of silver and slowly looked back towards him.

"You saved my life." She whispered, watching as his face took on a different expression. His gaze seemed to almost soften as he nodded slowly. She remembered seeing the trail of bloody tears he'd been crying in her delirium back at Godric's house and wanted to question him on it. "You made me drink your blood." She said as an after thought.

"That I did, but it was only to ensure your survival." Eric explained slowly. "I do wonder though; will I have to make a habit out of rescuing you? Because it seems as though you have become fond of trying to sacrifice yourself for me recently." He said slowly, his eyes watching her unblinkingly. Paige smiled a bit and shrugged at him, noticing how he looked displeased with her answer. "Paige…"

"I told you, Eric." She said quickly, making him shut his mouth at once. "I would do anything for you." Paige reiterated before motioning to the bowl of silver. "Obviously. You should have known that I would jump in front of you when the blast went off."

Eric smirked to himself and shook his head before leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, bringing his hands together. He was studying her with an expression she couldn't quite read and it made her fidget. "Paige…" He said slowly, thoughtfully. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

Paige could have played dumb but she knew exactly what Eric was talking about. So instead, she sighed and shrugged her shoulders, picking at the blankets and sheets resting on her lap. "I was afraid. Afraid you'd be disappointed in me for my problem; afraid that you'd lose your mind and go and kill those lowlifes, which I knew would start a war. They knew tons of people and I couldn't risk something like that happening. And I was way too proud to ask you for money."

"Yes, you always were a stubborn woman." Eric mused with a small smile. "And if you had asked me not to kill them, even though they were threatening both you _and _me, I would have resisted. I would have done anything to help you."

"Yes, well…" Paige said, clearing her throat as embarrassment flooded through her. "I guess I should have trusted your control a little bit more." She said before laughing dully. Eric shifted a bit and she could have sworn that she saw sparkling, glittering dust float up into the air around him with his movement. It distracted her for a moment until Eric grabbed her attention again.

"What happened with them?" He asked curiously.

"I joined the C.A.V.D. almost instantly. They helped me to take care of the problem." Paige said, wanting to leave it at that. The truth was that she wasn't quite sure what the C.A.V.D. had done with the loan sharks and she didn't really want to. She was happy being blissfully unaware. Paige watched Eric for a moment then frowned. "You look like you need rest. Have you been sleeping?"

Eric looked surprised with her question and looked away for a moment, pursing his lips. "Yes, well…no. Not really. Sleep was not so easy to find once you and your team put your little rescue mission into effect." Eric admitted, making Paige blush a bit under his gaze. Her body was reacting to him in a way that it had so many times in the past, and she was sure that he knew it. But Paige couldn't fight back her feelings no matter how hard she tried.

"You didn't have to threaten Jason." Paige said to change the subject, recalling what Jason had said to her when she was finished talking to Godric. Eric looked amused at once and leaned back into his chair, shrugging at her nonchalantly. "He and I are friends. That's all." She added to make sure her point got across and trying to distract herself from the obvious strength in his arms, how smooth his skin looked, how his eyelashes brushed the tops of his cheeks when he blinked…

"I know that very well." Eric said with a confident looking smirk on his face. "I simply was making sure that he knew there was a line drawn when it came to you and that should he ever decide he wanted to cross it, there would be consequences."

Paige wanted to roll her eyes at him and his over-protectiveness but didn't. Truth be told, she was overjoyed that he was still so possessive of her. It gave her hope for their future together. "Was everyone at Godric's alright?"

Eric nodded. "A few causalities, but no one of importance. Sookie and her brother managed to duck for cover before the blast went off."

Paige nodded, thankful her friends were alright, and then crossed her arms as she leaned back against the headboard of the bed. Eric looked at her suspiciously and she looked at him curiously, remembering he'd wanted to talk to her about something before they'd been interrupted…twice. "What did you want to speak with me about at Godric's?" She asked.

Eric stood slowly and she found herself pulling the blankets of the bed around her a bit tighter, watching him warily as he approached her. She wasn't afraid of him by any means or afraid of the things she was feeling for him because they were nothing new to her. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself if he came any closer. Eric paused one he reached the bed though and turned towards the other nightstand, grabbing for the plate of food and holding it out to her. She'd completely forgotten about it during their conversation but now that he was offering it to her, she could practically think of nothing else.

"We should save that conversation for another time. It is daylight and I need to rest, not to mention that you probably have not eaten in days and must be starving. We will speak of this once it is nighttime." Eric said with a note of finality, Paige nodding in agreement.

She took the plate form his hands and then the fork he offered to her. Paige slowly began to eat, her taste bugs practically bursting into song at how delicious the simple pancake and eggs tasted to her, but didn't take her eyes off of him as he walked over to the wardrobe on the other side of the room. When he began to change out of his clothes, she blushed and looked down at her food, concentrating on it very hard. "What time is it?" Paige asked him as he began to walk back over to her, clad only in a pair of silk boxers.

"Close to three in the afternoon, I would suppose." Eric answered her before tugging at the sheets around her. Paige almost dropped her plate in shock as he pulled the sheets back and slid into the bed next to her, his eyes on her the entire time. "Finish eating. We will talk later. I promise." He said before turning his back to her and settling deeper into the sheets.

Paige stared at his back for the longest time, though she knew by his movements that he was asleep in only a few minutes. Everything that he was doing was catching her completely off guard. First he'd made sure she would survive her wounds from the blast, and then he'd taken her to his room to rest as well as ordering food for her to eat. It had been so long since she'd seen his nurturing side that she'd almost forgotten that he even had one. He'd even cleaned her up, since she assumed she would have had blood all over her from her wounds.

Paige finished eating slowly, watching him the entire time as he slept, then set the plate off to the side, lifting up the bowl of silver to place it on the plate. She frowned when she looked at the bloody silver; Eric must have pulled it from her body whenever her wounds were healing and pushing the silver out. Paige wanted to grab his hands and kiss his fingertips that surely must have been injured while tending to her, but held off as she set the plate and bowl down.

She needed to get out of there before she did something she knew would get her in trouble. Godric had told her to wait for Eric to come to her, not jump on Eric like a cat in heat. She slid out of bed slowly, watching as Eric turned towards the spot she'd been in and flung his hand out to rest on the mattress, then turned and searched the room quickly for something to put on her legs so she wouldn't be walking the halls of the hotel in just one of Eric's shirts.

Finally, after locating some shorts, she pulled them on and walked to the door quietly, glancing back at Eric who was shuffling around in the bed again. She gazed at him for one more moment before opening the door and slipping out, turning back to make sure the door shut quietly.

"There you are!"

Paige jumped, letting out a squeak, and turned to face the person who'd spoken. It was Jason and he was standing just outside of a doorway that Sookie was standing in. "Oh, hey." She said with a smile, crossing her arms over her chest. Both Sookie and Jason looked at her attire before sharing a look. "I was just headed back to my room to clean up a bit." She offered as an explanation before looking at them curiously. "Do either of you know if Gary is still here?"

"Gary?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Yes, he's here. He saw Eric carrying you into his room and tried to stop him to ask some questions. Eric wasn't listening to anyone last night though, not even Godric." Sookie said with a small smile before looking back at Eric's door. "What have you two been doing in there, huh?"

"Nothing." Paige said truthfully. "I was cut and bleeding all night while I was asleep and then we talked for a bit before he decided to get some rest, thank you very much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a shower." She said before turning to walk away as Sookie giggled at her.

"Here, I'll walk with you." Jason called as he ran after her, stopping once he was at her side. "Don't want a scantily clad fox to be causing too many problems around here." He added with a wink. Paige rolled her eyes but cracked a smile regardless. Leave it to Jason to still flirt with her after Eric had practically threatened to rip off all of his limbs.

"It's just around the corner." Paige pointed out to him.

"Oh…" Jason said, pausing a bit before jogging to catch up with her again. "Still, better to be safe then sorry, right?"

Paige laughed then patted his shoulder. "I'm glad to see you and Sookie are fine." Paige said conversationally as they turned the walked down the hall, nearing the corner they'd have to turn at to reach her room.

"Yeah, me too. You were looking pretty bad back at Godric's. I'd ask just what exactly was going through your mind when you decided to jump in front of the vamp but I already know the answer to that one." Jason said, nudging her with his elbow. She shrugged at him as they turned the corner. "Listen, uh, you should come and visit sometime." Jason said a bit nervously. "You know, Bon Temps. Sookie and I would love to have you."

Paige laughed and nodded. "Yeah, sure. You're leaving already? Ready to get as far away from Dallas as you can?" She asked as they slowly approached her door. She was sure Gary was in there worried sick and ready to hit her with an earful of lecture, but she knew it was nothing she couldn't handle. Besides, Gary never stayed mad at her for long.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Jason agreed with a snort. "But we aren't leaving yet. There's some vampire meeting tonight with the chick that's always on TV so we're staying one more night and heading out tomorrow." Jason said with a shrug. Paige froze and looked at him in surprise. Nan Flanagan was coming and nobody had told her? "What?" He asked.

"I didn't hear anything about a meeting." Paige said stiffly. Jason shrugged at her, conveying to her that he didn't know why she was out of the loop, and she made a sound of irritation. _That _was probably what Eric wanted to speak to her about. They'd probably caught wind of the female vampire's upcoming arrival and he had probably been going to ask her to attend as a representative for the C.A.V.D. He probably didn't want to discuss their relationship at all. And he had wanted to wait to tell her the meeting so she wouldn't get worked up trying to figure out what she would say and get some rest instead.

She was so stupid.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked in concern, reaching out to rub her arm. Paige nodded and knocked on her door, trying to push her negative thoughts away. When Gary jerked it open, he only looked concerned.

"Thank God, you're alright." He said, pulling her into a massive hug and squeezing her until she thought she might pass out.

"Gary…you're huge and I'm not. You're killing me, here!" She managed to gasp out jokingly until he released her. Jason made up an excuse to leave and Paige walked into the hotel room, making a face at Gary before flopping onto the couch. Gary stood and stared at her for a moment before following her suit and plopping down next to her.

"You smell like blood." He pointed out wit a grossed out look on his face.

"It's been known to happen." Paige said sarcastically.

Gary smirked and shook his head. "You know, I should probably be really mad at you right now after that fiasco with the Fellowship and then you going and trying to get yourself killed in the name of love, or whatever. But honestly, I'm just glad to see you alive." He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and hugging her into his side. Paige smiled and patted his knee until Gary pushed her away again. "You really smell disgusting…not to mention you look a bit questionable wearing a man's shirt and boxers…"

Paige rolled her eyes at him and stood up to head for the shower. She turned when she reached the door and looked at Gary again. "Did you hear about a meeting tonight?" She asked him. "You know, with Nan Flanagan?"

Gary nodded almost immediately. "Yeah, Sookie came and told me early this morning. Why?"

Paige shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "When was I going to find out about this?"

Gary scratched his head, looking a bit confused. "I thought Eric was supposed to tell you…" He said while shrugging at her.

That was all she needed to hear.

Paige nodded and turned to head for the shower, practically tearing off the clothes Eric had leant to her, and sighing once she was under the hot waterfall of water. Eric hadn't wanted to discuss their relationship; he was the one who was supposed to tell her about the meeting. Maybe Godric was wrong about the whole thing. Eric had changed a lot over the past year and a half, after all. Maybe he had changed so much that Godric could no longer read him.

Maybe Eric had been toying with her the whole time. Maybe this was his revenge for what she had done to him; give her hope of a future together and then rip it all out from under her feet. Perhaps it had all been an act. And now that she had drunk his blood, he would always be able to find her to torture her like this.

She needed to get out of Dallas. This place was causing way too much emotional strain for her to deal with. She decided right then that she would go to that meeting, say whatever she was needed to say, and get the hell back to Houston and away from Eric Northman.

--

**A/N: Uh oh. What will happen? Review!**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Ok, so this chapter has lots of cussing in it but it's because I followed the show. Though I'm sure if you watch the show, then you're used to more mature content, lol. Just a fair warning!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

Paige and Gary were silent as they walked behind Bill and Sookie towards the room that would be homing their upcoming meeting. Truth be told, she was dreading the meeting. Nan Flanagan was known for her quick temper and cut-throat attitude. And Paige had already seen her that evening. When she'd been down at the bar having a few drinks with Jason to loosen up and calm down, she'd seen Nan and her group walk past. None of them had looked pleased.

Jason was quickly becoming a friend of hers. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box and his flirtations were never-ending, but he was generally a good guy and she found herself enjoying his company more and more, especially when there was something on her mind and she needed a break from all of her thoughts. Not to mention that he was actually good when it came to needing someone to listen. He'd managed to get her to confess to what was bothering her while they were at the bar, and then promptly explained that she was being crazy and shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Just…try and stay quiet during this meeting." Bill directed gently towards Sookie, Paige, and Gary as they filed onto the elevator. "Let her and Godric do all the talking. I feel that would be the best thing to do right now."

Gary nodded while Sookie looked miffed with his request. Paige only spared him a quick glance before gazing back out towards the hallway, watching as the doors began to slide closed. They were almost shut when a hand slipped in, making them stop and open back up.

Her breath caught in her throat at once as Eric stepped in, his gaze planted firmly on her before he turned his back to them all to stand and wait for the doors to clothes. All three of the other occupants, excluding Eric, looked back and forth between them with interest, waiting to see what would happen.

"Good evening." Eric said to no one in particular.

"Nice to see you again, man." Gary offered before looking back at Paige with a funny expression. She ignored him and crossed her arms, staring intently at Eric's back as the elevator went into motion.

No one spoke after that and Paige could feel more then one gaze on her the entire ride up to their designated floor. It was beginning to annoy her so she finally shot a look at first Gary, then Sookie, and then Bill before straightening out her leather jacket and taking in a deep breath, just to let it out with a sigh. Eric looked back at her over his shoulder when she did and shot her a smirk before turning back forward.

Paige was suddenly filled the urge to kick him.

The elevator dinged to signal their arrival, yet when the doors slid open, Eric didn't move. Again, the other three in the elevator shot her a look before squeezing past Eric to exit the elevator, turning left towards the room they were going to. Paige stared at Eric's back for a long moment before moving to go past him, confused and even a bit suspicious when Eric moved to walk with her.

"You were not in my room when I awoke." Eric stated as they followed behind the other three at a much slower pace. He was gazing down at her, she knew this because she could see it out of the corner of her eye, but she simply shrugged and kept her eyes forward. She didn't know what his intentions with her were, and therefore, she was guarded.

"I had some things to take care of." She offered as an explanation for her disappearance. "I didn't want to be a bother or anything so I just decided not to come back." She added, glancing up at him to see him looking at her with an odd expression.

"Why are you so guarded right now?" Eric asked, grabbing her by the wrist gently to pull her to a stop with him. Paige sighed and stared at his chest, only looking at him when he bumped her chin gently with his index finger. "Another benefit of our little blood bond is that I will be able to feel your every emotion." He explained quietly. "I know what you are feeling right now. And it unnerves me."

Paige frowned up at him then rubbed her forehead, shaking her head. "I've just got a thousand different thoughts running through my head…and everything is so confusing…and…" She sputtered out, pausing to run a hand through her hair. "What did you want to talk to me about, Eric?" Paige finally asked him. "Were you just going to tell me about this meeting?" She asked, motioning to the door just a few yards away from them. It was Eric's turn to frown down at her and he glanced at the door before shaking his head.

"No, though that was one thing I was going to inform you of. I wanted to speak with you because I have a very important question to ask of you." Eric said, the tiniest of smiles appearing in the corner of his mouth. Immediately her emotions did a one eighty and Paige felt her heart leap into her throat, her mind racing a mile a minute as she tried to determine what he was going to ask her. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her closer to him. "I have thought long and hard on this subject and have reached a decision of what I would like to do. So…Paige, will y–" He was starting to ask, but was cut off as Gary stuck his head out of the door.

"Uh, you guys might want to get in here. Now." Gary said, looking just the slightest bit frightened. Eric looked very angry and annoyed for a moment before he nodded at Gary. He looked back down at Paige and sighed.

"After the meeting." He promised her, not releasing her hand as he pulled her towards the doorway.

Paige wanted to slap herself for doubting Eric. Sure he might have hardened up a bit around the edges since their breakup, but he wouldn't be that cruel to her. She had a bad history of overanalyzing things, and this was just another case to prove that she needed to sit back and relax while things played out the way they were supposed to. She smiled to herself and squeezing his hand, Eric shooting her a slightly amused look, before stopping and letting her walk in before him, released her hand as he did so.

At once her eyes fell on a very annoyed looking Nan Flanagan. She quirked and eyebrow at both Paige and Eric as they walked in, her arms crossed over her chest. "Sorry to break up the little love fest, but we have some business to take care of." She reminded them. Paige nodded at the blonde, apologizing quickly, and moved further into the room with Eric right on her heels. He motioned for her to sit on the white cushioned stool but she shook her head, motioning for him to take it. When he didn't, she began to say something but Nan's annoyed voice rang clear. "One of you take the fucking seat so we can get this meeting over with."

Paige plopping onto the seat at once, hearing a distinctly annoyed growl leave Eric's throat as he came to stand right behind her. Gary was sitting on the couch with Sookie and Bill and made a face at her as Nan turned to address everyone else.

"Do you have any fucking idea of the P.R. mess you've made? And who has to clean the fucking shit up? Me. Not you. Me." She said angrily, looking around at everyone. "I should drain every once of you bastards."

"Stan went into the church on his own." Eric spoke up from behind her first. "None of us knew anything about it."

"Oh really? Because of everyone who met Stan in the last three hundred years knew that he had a kink about slaughtering humans. But you, his nest mates, his _sheriff_…had no clue?" Nan asked skeptically. Isabel went to speak but Nan held a hand up to her, turning her gaze on Paige and Gary. "And what was your organization thinking? Running in with Stan like that? Exposing your group? What were you looking to fucking gain out of your allegiance with him in this so-called 'war' he wanted to start?"

"That's not how it was." Paige tried to explain at once as Gary also tried to voice his side.

"I don't want to hear it." The blonde vampire cut in. "You know why?" Nan asked. "Because it's not my problem. You," She said, pointing at Paige, "and you," Nan continued, this time looking at Godric, "fucked up."

Eric growled behind her again. "Don't talk to them that way." He threatened angrily. Nan turned an unimpressed glare towards his direction.

"Don't talk to _me _that way." She countered. When Eric didn't speak again, she continued. "Let's get to the point." She said, looking back at Godric. "How did they manage to abduct you?"

Godric thought about his words for just a moment. "They would have taken one of us sooner or later…I offered myself." Godric confessed.

Paige immediately shared a surprised look with Gary. Never, not once, had she suspected that Godric would have turned himself over to the Fellowship of the Sun. She'd been so convinced that it was a betrayal from within Godric's circle. Hearing that he'd been willing to sacrifice himself just to, well, she assumed get the Fellowship's first killing out of the way, stunned her.

"Why?" Nan asked, looking thoroughly confused.

"Why not?" Godric retorted.

"They wanted you to meet the sun and you were _willing_?" Nan asked, an expression of disbelief on her face. Paige quickly glanced over to Godric to see what he would say.

Paige jumped in surprise when a hand dropped onto her shoulder and she looked up to see Eric standing right next to her, his eyes on the ground as he processed the information that had just been revealed. She immediately wanted to hug him and comfort him; he looked so hurt and so lost. She could imagine how he was feeling knowing that someone he'd been so loyal to and adored for so long had been willing to remove themself from his life.

"What do you think?" Godric asked Nan.

"I think you're out of your mind." Nan said slowly. Paige reached up to place a hand over Eric's, squeezing it tightly, and he turned his eyes to look at hers. The hurt in his gaze was making her heart break and she squeezed his hand again. "And then I hear about a traitor?"

"Irrelevant. Only a rumor. I'll take full responsibility." Godric said quickly as Isabel tensed next to him.

"You bet you will." Nan agreed coldly. Eric finally did look away from Paige then to turn his gaze on Nan.

"You cold bitch." He growled, his gaze unwavering.

"Listen…" She said, turning her angry gaze towards Eric. "This is a national vampire _disaster_. And nobody at the top has any sympathy for any of you." She said. "Sheriff," Nan continued, glancing over at Godric, "you fucked up you're fired."

Eric sighed in annoyance as Godric nodded his head. "I agree, of course. Isabel should take over; she had no part in my disgrace." He said, nodding at Isabel.

"Godric." Isabel said, not believing what Godric was saying as she shook her head. "Fight back."

"What are you saying?" Eric asked incredulously. "She's a bureaucrat; you don't have to take shit from her!" He exclaimed. Paige grabbed his hand as he moved forward a few steps and tried to pull him back.

"Eric, don't." She said quietly, tugging on his hand. She didn't want him to say something that would get him in just as much trouble as Godric was. She knew that his role as sheriff was important to him and Paige didn't want him to lose that.

"Do you want to lose your area, Viking?" Nan asked suddenly, making Paige cringe. Eric moved back to her side with a smirk, crossing his arms as he stared Nan down.

"Well you don't have that kind of power." He challenged her.

"Hey, I'm on TV." Nan said with a condescending smile and shrug. "Try me."

"I'm to blame." Isabel spoke up. "I should have contained Stan the second Godric went missing."

"And we should have known better then to let him and the other vampires enter the church." Gary finally spoke up, making Nan shoot him a bored look. "We didn't know of his volatile past but we should have picked up on it. We followed him into the church under the pretense of rescuing Godric, not killing the Fellowship members. We should have been able to see through the lies. It was our fault, too."

"Isabel, Gary." Godric said, silencing them. Paige was surprised to hear Godric speak Gary's name and assumed they met at some point during her state of unconsciousness. He paused then nodded to himself. "I remove myself from all positions of authority." He said to Nan.

She shrugged with a small smirk. "Works for me."

Sookie moved forward to speak and Bill grabbed her arm. "Sookie, Sookie." He said in warning. She looked back at Bill with a firm look.

"I owe him." Sookie murmured before turning back to Nan. "Ms. Flanagan?" When she had Nan's attention, Sookie continued. "Godric rescued me from a _really _large rapist who probably would have killed me, too."

"That's nice." Nan said sarcastically. "Moving on."

"No, listen!" Sookie pleaded. "And then he rescued humans in that church plus a whole lot of vampires. You think it's a P.R. mess now? It could have been a hundred, a _million_ times worse." She explained.

"He did stop a _lot_ of humans from being murdered." Paige offered to help out Sookie. Sookie nodded, sending Paige a grateful look while Nan glared at her a bit. Eric rested a hand on Paige's shoulder again and Nan looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow before looking highly annoyed. Paige didn't dare look up at him to see what kind of look he was giving Nan to result in the face she was making.

"You should thank him." Sookie finished.

"For getting kidnapped?" Nan asked, her attention on Sookie again. "For attracting a suicide bomber? For piss poor judgment? I think not."

Eric moved forward very quickly at Nan words and Paige jumped up, just managing to grab onto the back of his black sweater as both Isabel and Bill move to intervene with him. A few of the vampires that had arrived with Nan went onto alert while Nan simply stared up at Eric.

"Stop!" Paige said at the same time Isabel grabbed his arms and said, "Don't."

"Eric." Godric said calmly. "It doesn't matter." He said.

Eric stared at Nan for a long moment before turning back around. Paige gave him a look, which he ignored, and motioned for him to sit in the chair. This time he did so without argument and she stood next to him, ready to jump in front of him should he move to attack again. She knew she'd never be able to physically stop him, but she also knew that if he went to attack and she was in the way, he wouldn't do it.

Everyone else went back to their seats and once they were settled, Nan spoke again. "Tell me about the bombing please. Every single detail." Godric quickly explained everything that had happened to her and Nan looked positively livid once he was done. "What a fucking fiasco. You're lucky I don't send you all to the magister. Godric, come to my suite and fill out the forms."

"Soon." Godric said with a nod. "First, I have something to say." Everyone looked at Godric as he paused for a long moment, thinking about what he wanted to say. "I'm sorry." He said. "I apologize for all the harm I've caused…for our lost ones, human and vampire…I will make amends. I swear."

Paige looked down at Eric to see that he was somber again and rubbed his back soothingly, not caring who was watching them. He leaned closer to her and she sighed. "Take it easy." Nan said. "It's just a few signatures."

Then she stood and walked out with the other vampires, leaving everyone in the room to think about what had just happened. As soon as they were gone, Eric was on his feet and in front of Godric. "No."

"Look in my eyes." Godric said.

"You have to listen to me." Eric argued.

"There's nothing to say."

"There _is_." Eric pointed out in aggravation.

Godric paused for a moment. "On the roof." He instructed before walking out. Bill, Sookie, and Gary followed him while Eric turned to her, shaking his head.

"I don't understand." He murmured. "Why does he not fight?"

Paige walked up to him and grabbed his hand. Eric stared at her as though she had all the answers but she had nothing to offer him for advice. She didn't know Godric like he did. "Go and talk to him." She said gently. Eric nodded and went to move past her, but she kept a firm grip on his hand. "But please be quick. It'll be daylight soon, yeah?"

Eric watched her for a moment before walking back towards her and leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. It was as though her skin had caught on fire from the simple touch and she gasped, clutching to his sweater so she wouldn't fall to the ground. Eric pulled back to look down at her, the two of them standing only a few inches apart. Paige couldn't help herself; she reached up to push back a stray piece of hair that had fallen out of place. Eric closed his eyes for a moment, a soft sigh escaping his lips, before he opened his eyes again.

"Go. I'll be waiting." Paige promised him. Eric nodded then turned to leave the room and head up to the roof.

--

Paige paced her room impatiently, glancing at her watch every two seconds. It was daylight, she new that because the windows were a bit brighter then usual, and yet Eric had still not turn up. What was taking him so long? Why were he and Godric talking on the _roof _of all places?

She sighed and looked at her watch again, wishing that maybe she _hadn't _kicked Gary out of the room. Paige had figured that whatever Eric wanted to talk to her about was something he wanted to discuss in private, so she'd convinced Gary to go and hang out with Jason for the night.

Paige walked over to the window, tapping on it for a few seconds before heaving a sigh. Finally she decided that she was just going to go and find Eric, her worry taking over. She grabbed her room key as she walked past the table by the couch and was just headed for the door when a single knock sounded.

Paige practically ran to the door, throwing the key away carelessly, and jerked it open. Her jaw dropped as soon as her eyes landed on Eric and she frowned immediately. "Oh my God, Eric, what's wrong?" She asked, watching as the blood trailed down his cheeks and his chest seemed to heave. "Come in." She urged.

Eric didn't say a word as he walked in but simply reached out for her and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her neck. Paige wrapped her arms around his neck as he cried, his shoulders shaking with his sobs, and she felt her heart absolutely breaking for him. "Eric, tell me what's wrong." She said gently, wanting to know what was making him act like this.

"Godric…" He said against her neck. "He's gone."

Paige placed her hands on his neck and gently forced him to look at her. "What do you mean he's gone?" She asked him in confusion. Eric stared at her for a moment before breaking into more sobs.

"He's dead. He…he decided to meet the sun after all." Eric managed out.

Paige gasped then hugged him tightly again, Eric again hiding his face in her neck as he clutched to her desperately. She continued to rub his back as he let out his pain, Eric sinking to the floor and bringing her with him as she kept her arms around him. Paige whispered soothing things in his ear, trying to make him feel better, and eventually his sobs ceased enough to the point where he could talk again.

"I can't believe he is gone." Eric said, finally lifting his head. Paige whipped at the blood on his face, trying to clean it up, and he simply stared at her as he spoke. "He was my maker, my longest friend, one of the few individuals I trusted…and now I will never see him again."

"Everything will be fine." Paige said gently with a nod. "It hurts, I know. But I'm sure that Godric would have wanted you to move on and live your life. He wouldn't want you to wallow in misery over him." She explained, watching as he slowly nodded. "Godric has moved on to something bigger and better then this world, I know it."

Eric's eyes roamed over her features for a moment as he struggled for something to say. "I…I offered to…to stay with him." He admitted. "To die with him so he would not be alone."

Paige looked at him with a stunned expression and she didn't even know what to say to something like that. Knowing that she could have lost Eric forever that night made her entire body ache and her eyes begin to tear up. "I…you…what?" She stuttered out, shaking her head. "You…I don't understand."

Eric gently grabbed her face, shaking his head quickly. "I could never do it." He said, interrupting her babbling. "Godric needed only to remind me what I would be leaving behind, reminded me just how much I have to live for here. And I just…couldn't. Godric is gone, but you are still here…and you are all I need." He said quickly.

Paige smiled then, tears starting to stream down her face at his confession, and closed her eyes when Eric leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. It was a bit strange; the taste of his bloody tears and her watery one reaching her tongue, but she was kissing Eric again and that was all that mattered. He pulled her closer, holding on to her like she would disappear if he loosened his grip even the slightest. She sighed against his urgent lips then smiled at him again when he pulled away, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I love you, Paige." Eric said quietly, his gaze unwavering as he ran his fingertips down her cheek. "I love you so much."

Paige leaned forward and gave him another kiss, which he returned enthusiastically. "I love you, too."

--

**A/N: Yay! Review.**


	16. Epilogue

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out! I went without cable and internet for a MONTH (It killed me. I was so bored) and then I went out of town to Pittsburgh and I've been swamped at work so I had absolutely no means of putting this thing out. **

**This IS the last chapter. It's sad that we've reached it already because I loved writing this story so much! The possibility of a sequel to this story surfacing when the new season comes is very likely simply because in all honesty this story is NOT finished. But this is all I'm going to do with this story for this past season. So don't hate me! Lol. **

**Enjoy!**

**--**

He'd been lying in her arms for hours, his head resting against her chest as she toyed with his hair gently. She had helped him clean up a bit so that his cheeks weren't stained with blood anymore and Eric had fallen asleep long ago in her protective embrace. She hadn't felt the urge even once to try and release herself from his possessive grasp. Paige was just too happy with the fact that things could possibly be going back to normal between them, going back to the way things should have been for the past year and four months.

Paige sighed and kissed his forehead, moving her arms to wrap around his shoulders tightly as she rested her chin on top of his head. She hated to see him like this, but he was in a ton of pain from losing Godric and she would be here for him for as long as he needed. Another image of him crying hysterically flashed through her mind and she pressed another kiss to his head with a sigh. He stirred a bit this time and she froze, afraid she'd woken him up, but then couldn't stop her heart from fluttering when he looked up at her slowly.

"Sorry I woke you." She said quietly with a small smile.

"I have been going in and out of sleep for a while now. I was merely too comfortable to move." Eric admitted with a small smile before he frowned a bit and tightened his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as he stared off into space. "You would think I would be used to the pain of losing someone…"

Paige moved her hand to touch his cheek gently and smiled at him sadly when he looked back at her. "I don't think anyone gets used to the pain of losing someone, especially not someone who was as important to you as Godric was."

Eric watched her for a moment then sat up slowly, uncharacteristically running a hand through his hair before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the couch, his hand finding hers. Paige frowned and moved a bit closer to him.

"You really don't look so good." Paige stated with a frown.

"I am weak." He admitted quietly.

Paige wanted to roll her eyes at him but just squeezed his hand, thinking about how silly his thought train could be sometimes. "You're not weak for caring about people or missing someone when they're gone." She reminded him firmly.

Eric smirked and turned his head to look at her, turning his hand under hers so he lace his fingers with her own. "I know this. You have taught me that lesson on more then one occurrence." Eric said, bringing her hand up to kiss it. "I mean that I am weak in the respect that I have not slept much since you arrived nor have I fed in a long while."

Paige blinked in surprise then blushed, smiling sheepishly at him. "Oh." She said simply with a shrug. "How long has it been since you fed?" She asked him curiously. Eric had always been able to find his sources for blood, though she never wanted to know _who _those sources were.

"I haven't fed since the moment I walked through the lobby and was bowled over by your scent lingering in the air." Eric admitted quietly, his eyes burning with intensity. Paige squirmed a bit, her blush deepening. She hadn't realized he'd known she was there before the first initial meeting with Isabel and Stan. Perhaps she'd underestimated just what exactly this trip had been doing to him since before they even came face to face.

He smiled at her for a moment before reaching over to brush his fingers over her cheeks. "I missed seeing that." He said, referring to her blushing cheeks. "And I missed seeing you…it has been a very _long _year and four months."

"Trust me, I know what you mean." Paige agreed with a sigh. Eric wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, eventually depositing her on his lap with hardly any effort at all. He smiled at her and she couldn't resist leaning in to kiss the lips she'd missed so much. He made a sound of approval and returned the kiss eagerly, his fingers sliding into her hair and making her nerves tingle with awareness.

He rested his forehead on hers when they pulled away, Paige gasping for air, and he looked at her quizzically for a moment. Paige smiled broadly and tapped his nose. "What going on in that head of yours?" She asked curiously.

"Were you with anyone else? While we were apart?" Eric asked, a serious expression on his face.

Paige smiled and kissed his lips slowly. "Of course not." Then she frowned a bit, so much so that Eric guessed immediately what she was wondering.

"Do not be ridiculous…I don't like humans, remember?" Eric teased before pulling her into another kiss. Paige knew then he hadn't been with anyone else and her heart fluttered at the thought that perhaps he'd unknowingly been waiting for her to return to him; because it was what she had been waiting for.

Her thoughts, her actions, her everything had always been Eric since the day that she met him. He was the one, regardless whether he was human or vampire. She would never love anyone like she loved Eric and she would never trust anyone like she trusted Eric. He was her match in every sense of the word. Paige sighed and tangled her fingers into his hair, giving herself completely over to him and his kiss. His response was a low growl in his throat and his kiss becoming even more urgent.

Eric pulled away to trail his lips over her jaw and she sighed, pressing a few kisses to his cheek and ear. His lips neared her neck and another zing of awareness shot through her.

"What have you been trying to ask me these past few days?" She asked breathlessly in his ear, knowing she needed to get the question out before she lost all of her thought process. She was amazed that she could even think straight, let along form coherent sentences. Eric seemed a bit surprised too as he pulled back to look at her with a small smile on his face.

He cocked his head to the side and studied her for a moment, long enough to where she was about to ask him again. "I have been trying to ask you to come back to Shreveport with me. Permanently." Paige blinked in surprise. "I want us to work, Paige. I want us to be together. And I know that we have a lot to catch up on and it would be easier if you were to simply move in with me. I want you to be there." Eric reasoned quickly.

He'd asked her this very same question plenty of times before and she had always said no, but this time it was different. She'd always been hesitant about committing herself completely to another person and had always been reluctant to leave her life in Texas to be with him in Louisiana. But now, now that she'd lost him and experienced what life would be like without him, she would rather be with him for as long as she could and take the risk.

Paige smiled and immediately Eric returned the gesture. "Ok." She agreed. "But I can't come right away. I have to tie up some loose ends back in Houston as well as see about getting transferred to the Louisiana branch of the C.A.V.D." Paige said firmly, knowing he wouldn't like the fact that she wouldn't be coming with him right away.

Eric frowned a bit then sighed. "I suppose I can agree with handle the wait, after all, I have been waiting for a year and four months, what's another week?" He asked. Then he smirked. "Though I see absolutely no need for you to still be involved with the C.A.V.D. now that we are back together."

Paige laughed and kissed him lightly. "It's my job, sweetheart."

He grumbled a response and she pulled him into another kiss to shut him up. Eric returned it enthusiastically and she immediately moved to press closer to him, wanting to feel as much of him as she could. The matter of her mortality was another subject she wanted to discuss with him, but with all the things that had been happening she decided to put it on the back burner and save the conversation for a rainy day. Besides, they had plenty of time to turn her when it was all said and done.

Eric was beginning to kiss her more urgently, his hands trailing up under her shirt and started to work at removing her clothing as they reacquainted themselves with each other. Paige again felt his lips on her neck and she was suddenly filled with the desire to let him doing something that she'd never allowed him to do before. They were together again and Paige knew that if she had anything to say about it, it would be for good. She wanted to give herself completely over to him now.

"Bite me." She said in his ear, boldness flooding through her veins.

Eric immediately pulled back and looked at her in shock, his eyes wide and dark. "Paige?" He asked shakily, sounding extremely unsure of what she'd just said.

Paige ran a hand over his lips then over his jaw line until it rested on his neck. She tried to urge him forward, her body on fire for him. "I want you to bite me, Eric."

"But –"

"I'm yours, Eric Northman." Paige interrupted. "Heart, body, and soul. And I trust you. I want you to have _all _of me." She said, not breaking his gaze so that he would know she was telling the truth.

At once, his fangs appeared but he didn't move to do so. Instead, he gulped hard, his eyes searching her face as he raised a hand up to her cheek. "Paige, are you sure about this?" He asked quietly.

She nodded at once. "I don't want you to feed on anyone but me from here on out."

Eric smiled, looking slightly predatory but at the same time extremely sexy, and nodded as he pulled her into a hungry kiss. She made a noise of approval and returned the kiss as one of his hands tangled into her hair before pulling her head back gently. His other hand was on her lower back and pressing her into him as she tightened her grip on his shoulders, hanging onto him for some sense of balance as his mouth ran down her jaw to her neck.

When he reached her throat his chest heaved and his nose pressed against her delicate skin, and she could have sworn she felt the hand on her back trembling. Or perhaps it had just been her trembling. This was a step she had thought she would never take and now there would be no going back.

Then his teeth were breaking the skin of her neck gently. Paige gasped, one of her hands flying to his head to hold him in place as he groaned against her skin. She didn't find the experience painful at all, but was extremely surprised at how pleasurable it was. At the same time, though, Paige was sure that had it been anyone else, she would have a completely different outlook on the situation.

When he pulled away some moments later, his chest was heaving and his eyes were closed as he seemed to savor what had just happened. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip to sweep up the remnants of her blood before looking at her with darkened eyes and she smiled before leaning in to give him a gentle kiss. Paige didn't feel weird or degraded in anyway. She felt safe, cherished, and like she'd just granted Eric one of the greatest gifts she could give him.

"How do you feel?" He asked a bit uncertainly, his eyes searching hers intently.

"Good." Paige said simply.

He let out a deep breath and shook his head a bit. "You're amazing." Eric said with an amazed smile, his fangs gleaming in the artificial light of the lamps in her hotel room. "I love you so much."

They moved forward at the same time to share another kiss, both making sounds of approval. This time, when they began to get carried away, Eric stood up and lifted her into the air with him. She smiled against his lips, feeling the mattress under her back in just a split second, before he reached over and clicked off the lights.

--

Paige sat up slowly and stretched, looking over at the clock. Gary would be wanting to head out soon so she knew that she needed to get ready to go back to Houston. But looking down at Eric's sleeping form, leaving him was the absolute last thing that she wanted to do.

"Do you have to go already?" He asked without opening his eyes.

Paige sighed and stood up, getting dressed quickly. "Yes. Gary wanted to leave early so we could get back and get everything on file as quickly as possible. I should go with him." She explained, watching as he finally opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. His hair was askew and he had a bit better coloring to him since he'd had some of her blood. He looked incredible.

"Or you could just wait until tonight and I can fly you back myself." Eric suggested with a small smile. "It will be much easier and _much_ faster."

Paige laughed and shook her head, walking over to kiss his forehead. "You need rest, first of all, and think of it this way; the sooner I get back, the sooner I can come to Shreveport."

Eric grumbled out a response, eventually admitting that she was right and giving her his blessing in leaving without him. She finally managed to pull herself away from him and his unyielding kisses twenty minutes later and walked over to the closet to start packing her things. Eric frowned and dressed in the blink of an eye before coming over to help her. She quirked an eyebrow at him in amusement as he stuffed a pair of jeans into her bag a bit roughly.

"The faster you pack, the sooner you can leave, and the sooner you will be able to join me in Louisiana." He shot back at her, making her laugh.

With his help, her things were packed in no time and soon she was walking into the main area of her hotel suite with a bag in her hand. Gary was throwing some of his bags out of his room and smirked at her as she stood up, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Long night?" He asked. Paige shushed him quickly and looked at him with wide eyes, watching as he looked behind her and tried hard not to let a smug grin break free. "Oh, I see. What's up, Eric?"

"Good morning, Gary." Eric said politely, carrying the rest of her bags over to where Paige was standing. "I trust you slept well." He added conversationally.

"Better then you two." Gary mumbled, making Paige glare at him.

Eric ignored him and turned to look at her. "This is all of it." He said before grabbing her other bags and taking them to the door. "Do you need help pack anything else?"

"I already took care of it all." Gary said, sighing in annoyance as he checked his cell phone again. "We need to get outta here soon. Headquarters has been all over _my_ ass all night about wanting our notes and reports since _someone _around here turned off their cell phone last night." He said grumpily.

"Welcome to my world, Gary, dear." Paige said with a sickly sweet smile as Gary gathered up the rest of their things. She was going to go over and help him but Eric stopped her with a hand on her hip. He pressed a kiss to her temple with a small smile before going over to help Gary.

Paige grinned as she watched then, knowing that Eric probably wasn't fond of Gary due to his relationship with her but also aware of the fact that he had to be trying very hard just so he could please her. Paige decided to get their room keys together and stuffed them into the packet they came in before following waiting for Gary and Eric to get everything situated.

"Ready?" Paige asked as they walked towards her.

"No." Eric said with a frown at the same time Gary said, "Yes."

Paige opened the door for them and waited for them to walk through, Gary leading the way as Eric hung back to walk next to her after she shut the door. She smiled up at him and watched him move the bags he was carrying to one hand so he could lace his fingers with hers.

It all hit her then that she would really be moving to Shreveport. She would be living with Eric permanently now.

If someone had told her a few weeks ago that she and Eric would be back together and making such a big move like living together, she would have laughed in their face and kindly reminded them that Eric Northman hated her guts. She leaned in closer to him and kissed his shoulder through his jacket since she couldn't reach his lips. Oh how strangely things turned around sometimes. She knew that Gary would be sad to see her go, but then again maybe she would try to convince him to come with her. It wasn't like he had too many ties back in Houston anyway. He'd fit right in with Eric and all of her new friends.

They reached the elevators quickly and Eric released her hand to give her the bags he was holding for her. "I better not go down with you. If I do, I may not be able to say goodbye." Eric admitted quietly so Gary wouldn't hear. Gary had his back turned to them though as he pressed the button for the elevator, giving them privacy. "Have a safe drive back to Houston, alright?"

Paige nodded just as the elevator dinged and dropped her bags to wrap her arms around his and give him a kiss. He returned it gently, his fingers toying with her hair for a moment before she pulled away regretfully. "I'll see you in three days."

"Good." Eric said with a small smile. "I love you, Paige." He continued as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you, too." She responded, receiving another kiss from him before moving away from him to collect her bags. Gary was holding the elevator for open for her and nodded at Eric as the vampire turned his gaze to him.

"Take care of her, Gary." Eric said simply.

"Of course." He said as Paige stepped in.

She blew a kiss to Eric, who smiled and waved to her. "See you soon!" She said just as the doors shut.

Gary turned and gave her an amused look that she rolled her eyes at. "Three days? See ya soon? Is there something that you would like to tell me, P-Col?" He asked.

"We'll talk about it in the car." She said with a laugh.

As soon as they were done checking out and Gary was leading her out to their car, Paige looked up at the hotel one last time. She had never been so happy that she'd insisted on taking a mission. It had served its exact purpose of bringing her back to Eric. The three days separating her from seeing him again would be torturous, but she couldn't help but feel elation at knowing what waited for her in Louisiana.

Paige would get to spend the rest of her life with Eric. And hopefully, once the time came, she would get to spend the rest of her _immortal _life with him, too. Someday.

_Fin_

--

**A/N: How bad did that suck? I've been writing this chapter for a stupid long time! Review!**


	17. Sequel

**4/15/13**** – Because I still get so many messages about this, I'm here to let everyone know that the sequel, unfortunately, was discontinued. Once upon a time there was a sequel floating around but after an extreme case of writer's block I eventually decided to stop writing it. Sorry for confusion and sorry for the lack of a sequel! **

**- Carrot Top**


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